We’re saying goodbye to this great man today. My Father-in-Law Francesco - Frank to us, Nonno to our girls. For Xmas a long time ago, he gave me this Bocce set. It was well played by the time he entrusted it to me. Frank made the case himself - pretty sure in his garage ... cobbled together with panels cut sawn an old piece of wood, cut into pieces to make a box. Nailed and strapped together to encase 16lbs of backyard fun. The handle looks like it was cut from a piece of discarded steel pipe, the ends then squished in a vice, somehow bent to shape and then drilled and bolted to the case. The latch was another improv’d part of this way-before-its-time DIY project, most likely from odd parts found in bins in that same garage. I especially liked the measuring tool - which I’m pretty sure started life as a radio antenna. I like that Frank taught me how to play this classic Italian game, and we played every family birthday, holiday, Sunday dinner etc (of which there were many). But mostly I like that this box, the game and this gift embody the best qualities of his spirit: patience, generosity, acceptance, and the simple skill to really know how to enjoy a moment, and find joy in the simple things that surrounded him. Rest In Peace Nonno, thank you for teaching me bocce, and for reminding me how to see the joy of life that is right in front of us. Your spirit will never leave us, and will be felt ever more strongly when these balls and the sounds of family laughs fill our back yard. https://www.instagram.com/p/COMLqxmlI8c/?igshid=q7l01j3y5ptu