earlier today, juj and i played in a corn hole tournament at the beaver oktoberfest. we participate in this strictly for fun and out of a tremendous sense of nostalgia. anyone who knows us realizes how much we adored our childhood sundays in beaver.
before our grandmother's death in 1975, mom and dad would drive us in the station wagon (every sunday) to beaver for a wonderful home-cooked meal at my grandparents' house. we would eat around noon, then spend the afternoon playing outside...my grandfather listening to his beloved reds on the radio while drinking hudepohl or pabst blue ribbon beer. life was simple. and good. and filled with love. the love came from our grandmother.
grandma's name was vonberta. yes, that's an unusual name. the first of eleven children, she was tall (this is where juj and i get our height), olive-skinned, and probably the most authentically loving, generous, and compassionate soul that ever lived. interestingly, i researched the origin of grandma's name several years ago and discovered it derives from the german "vonbertha". "vonbertha" was a character in german folklore who would enter the nurseries of crying children in the middle of the night and rock them back to sleep. my grandmother was aptly named.
so, back to oktoberfest.
today, juj and i wore our corn hole t-shirts (yes, corn hole t-shirts) to the tournament. my shirt has an image of a corn cob on the left side of my chest with the word "CORN" under it. juj's shirt is identical, but hers says "HOLE". (hee, hee. no kidding.) okay, so we don't play to win. we're not great at corn hole, but we're also not too shabby. we honestly play to have a great time; and we always do.
when registering for the tournament this morning, we had to provide a team name; we chose "VONBERTA'S GIRLS". our first match was against two guys whose team name was "PANTIES OFF". yes. "panties off".
turns out, the guys from "panties off", probably in their mid to late twenties, were two of the nicest fellas you'd ever want to meet. they were terrific at corn hole and beat us easily. but they were so darn nice, we instantly became their biggest fans as they advanced in the tournament. (juj and i jokingly said that our team name should've been "panties on"). we went on to play another team (we didn't ask for or know their nickname..."panties off" would've been hard to beat), but they, too, were incredibly nice...and we all laughed and joked and shook hands when the match was over like we were old friends.
juj and i didn't throw very well today. truth be told, all of the men there were pretty hard core when it came to corn hole. but that's okay. we held our own. more importantly, i like to think, we were a little like our team namesake when it came to being kind to those around us this morning.
grandma would've been proud.
