Every year a neighbor in our hood sets up a curling rink. It’s not official by any means, and we don’t actually have “stones”, but we make it work. These are our home made stones which are simply put, two salad bowls slipped together, filled with cement and a pipe fitting handle put on, wrapped with a sliced garden hose as a bumper and lots of duct tape.
… And they work!
Making the circles? A nail and string scour the edge and then filled with food coloring. It’s basic, but works just fine for us.
This is the quintessential if you build it they will come example. Have I watched curling on TV? Sure. Have I wanted to get out there and play? Nope. And my life would have probably been fine if I never slid a thing across ice.
Yet here we are, out at nights when it is only 10 degrees, having cigars, throwing stones at a circle and pretending like it matters with teams we just made up depending on who shows up. And why? Because it is an excuse to get together, hang out with people, and do something. It didn’t have to be curling, it could have been anything. It’s a great excuse to just get together and have fun. In this anti-social yet “social” world we live in, these events are needed more than ever.
The human interaction and bond is something our brains need. We can fake in online for a little while, but in the end, it is not the same.
Now for a few more curling shots:
Paul Curling View from the fire pit Ryan Tosses a Stone
