Bocce at Nocabulabet

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Kizmet, May 15, 2016.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    When you think about East Coast cities most people think of New York first and then maybe Boston. But don’t forget about Providence, Rhode Island. It’s a beautiful little city sitting in the middle of the tiniest state and there is something very special about it. If, for example, you were to cross under the La Pigna gateway arch on Atwells Avenue you’d find yourself in an interesting place. It’s a neighborhood known as Federal Hill, sometimes, more generically as “Little Italy.” You’ll find some great restaurants, shops and clusters of neighborhoods filled with neatly kept houses. It is also the home territory of one of the most notorious crime families in the US, the Patriarca branch of Cosa Nostra. Now something that is less well known is that just a few blocks away from La Pigna is Empire Street. You wouldn’t know it if you saw it today but once upon a time Empire Street was the heart of Providence’s Chinatown. It was once a thriving place filled with shops and homes, the Far East Noodle Company being a center of attraction as were the local Chinese “Societies.” Some might tell you that these societies were fronts for the Tong but most will just say they know nothing about that sort of thing. The Chinese Exclusion Act shut down the flow of the “Yellow Peril” and so Chinatown had begun to shrink and lose power long before the city decided that Empire Street needed to be widened. Of course this meant that all those shops and homes, including the noodle company and the “Chinese Society” buildings, needed to be torn down, scattering the Chinese families into the adjacent neighborhoods, effectively, and some would say deliberately, destroying Chinatown.
    The Patriarcas are all gone too, rolled up as a part of a nationwide crackdown on organized crime (of the Sicilian variety). But a kid from Westminster Street might still wander down Empire Street, imagining the way it used to be with all the sights and sounds, the language, the colors and the smells of Chinatown the way it was at the turn of the last century. And then you could go just a few blocks further, walk under that gateway arch into Federal Hill and, taking a turn onto Spruce Street, find yourself at Nocabulabet Park. You can imagine, back in the day, those Bocce courts lined with men all shouting as a ball rolls toward the pallino. And maybe, off to the side, a small group of men sit on some benches, smoking their cigars and speaking Sicilian in quiet tones.
    The courts are still there although now they’re frequented by Millenials and Hipsters who will try to convince you that they were into bocce “before it was cool.” But if you go on some warm Spring morning you might find a group of old men, who still speak a little Sicilian, lazily trying to “make a good throw,” and arguing which ball is closest. If you ask to join them they might give you a game and if you ask them about the old days they might tell you some stories that include names like Sonny and Wild Man. They might even remember a few stories, told to them by their grandparents, memories of Chinatown on Empire Street, a world that is now so long gone that no one even thinks about it. I may not ever get to vacation in Europe or some other exotic spot but I can still go to Providence and play bocce at Nocabulabet.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Oh yeah, I also went to the Misquamicut Spring Festival. Tailgating at the beach is always fun. Yesterday was a pretty nice spring beach day but it clouded over a bit today. Not great for tanning but just right for petanque, right Johann?

    Misquamicut Spring and Fall Festivals :: Home
     
  3. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    When I hear bocce, I think of Aunt Beru's requirement for a translator droid.
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Uncle Owen: Have you seen Luke this morning?
    Aunt Beru: He said that he had some things to do before he started, so he left early.
    Uncle Owen: Did he take those two new droids with him?
    Aunt Beru: I think so.
    Uncle Owen: Well, he'd better have those units in the South Ridge repaired by midday, or there'll be hell to pay.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Ieu ne soi segur, Kizmet. (I'm sure of that.) :smile: Just keep the pès tancats (feet firmly on the ground - Provençal) i.e. don't take steps before throwing, as in bocce. And keep your eye on the cochonnet.

    Article on petanque in America, here: The Game & Rules

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2016
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I like playing petanque on the beach, on the hard sand at low tide, because the beach always slopes toward the water and you have to appreciate that your boule will roll in an arc.
     
  7. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member


    Your best post, evah!
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Providence is an interesting city. Several years ago, my wife and I did a getaway weekend and stayed at The Biltmore, which is a great hotel. However, walk a few blocks in certain directions, and it feels like you're back in 1970's South Bronx.
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

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