It's Only Roque and Roll, But I Like It
Posted on August 13, 2010 with 0 comments
Yeah, I know it's a bad pun. I apologize. I just want to clarify the pronunciation. It's "Roque" as in "Joke." Got it? (At least that's what Wikipedia claims!)
Down in Angelica, NY they play Roque - a variation of Croquet that is played on a hard-packed dirt field with curbed walls.
(In "The Shining" that's a Roque mallet Jack is swinging as he wends his maniacal way through the halls of the Overlook Hotel. But, I digress....)
So, back to Angelica, where they play Roque. Roque was once an Olympic sport! Yes sir: in 1904. Roque was once called the "game of the century!" Yet now Roque is limited to one last beautiful dirt court in Angelica, NY. Yep. That's right, folks. "The Last Bastion of Roque" is smack dab in the middle of a little town called Angelica.
Those of you who read my recent blog on the subject will be aware that I was then blissfully unaware of the difference between Croquet and Roque. Of course, blissful unawareness sort of comes with the territory of banjo playing, as you may well know.
Heck, I had never HEARD of Roque until Sean Herbert of ESPN alerted me to the sport. There I was, at the Angelica Heritage Festival, minding my own business, playing my banjo. (I know, some of you are thinking - "How can he POSSIBLY be minding his own business and playing a banjo at the same time?" You're right, I can't. And up comes Sean with the Smallest Microphone the World Has Ever Seen and asks me "Can I record your banjo?" Well, what am I to do? I can't refuse. Heck, I can't do anything and play my banjo at the same time!
So, I nodded my head in a sort-of-limited-way, and Sean stuck that tiny microphone near my banjo, and although I had no idea who Sean was or why he was waving that little microphone at me, I played him a tune of my own devise. Meaning, I kept on playing something I had made up on the spot. It wasn't much. (I know, some of you are thinking - "It's a banjo tune, how could it possibly be much?)
Anyway, I played for about a minute and a half, which is about all the average person can stand, and Sean thanked me and he went on his way. And, I would have forgotten all about it and never have learned the first or last thing about Roque.
But that was not to be, for later that very afternoon, following a brilliant performance by The Band of Brothers, Sean re-introduced himself, and told me of his desire to use my little banjo tune in an ESPN feature on the almost extinct sport of Roque.
So, there you have it. The whole kit and kaboodle, complete and unedited, the Director's Cut. I'll be sure to let you know when ESPN airs the feature. You'll get your chance to see Roque in action; and if there's some banjo picking in the background, yours truly is the culprit.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael Scott Smith
Down in Angelica, NY they play Roque - a variation of Croquet that is played on a hard-packed dirt field with curbed walls.
(In "The Shining" that's a Roque mallet Jack is swinging as he wends his maniacal way through the halls of the Overlook Hotel. But, I digress....)
So, back to Angelica, where they play Roque. Roque was once an Olympic sport! Yes sir: in 1904. Roque was once called the "game of the century!" Yet now Roque is limited to one last beautiful dirt court in Angelica, NY. Yep. That's right, folks. "The Last Bastion of Roque" is smack dab in the middle of a little town called Angelica.
Those of you who read my recent blog on the subject will be aware that I was then blissfully unaware of the difference between Croquet and Roque. Of course, blissful unawareness sort of comes with the territory of banjo playing, as you may well know.
Heck, I had never HEARD of Roque until Sean Herbert of ESPN alerted me to the sport. There I was, at the Angelica Heritage Festival, minding my own business, playing my banjo. (I know, some of you are thinking - "How can he POSSIBLY be minding his own business and playing a banjo at the same time?" You're right, I can't. And up comes Sean with the Smallest Microphone the World Has Ever Seen and asks me "Can I record your banjo?" Well, what am I to do? I can't refuse. Heck, I can't do anything and play my banjo at the same time!
So, I nodded my head in a sort-of-limited-way, and Sean stuck that tiny microphone near my banjo, and although I had no idea who Sean was or why he was waving that little microphone at me, I played him a tune of my own devise. Meaning, I kept on playing something I had made up on the spot. It wasn't much. (I know, some of you are thinking - "It's a banjo tune, how could it possibly be much?)
Anyway, I played for about a minute and a half, which is about all the average person can stand, and Sean thanked me and he went on his way. And, I would have forgotten all about it and never have learned the first or last thing about Roque.
But that was not to be, for later that very afternoon, following a brilliant performance by The Band of Brothers, Sean re-introduced himself, and told me of his desire to use my little banjo tune in an ESPN feature on the almost extinct sport of Roque.
So, there you have it. The whole kit and kaboodle, complete and unedited, the Director's Cut. I'll be sure to let you know when ESPN airs the feature. You'll get your chance to see Roque in action; and if there's some banjo picking in the background, yours truly is the culprit.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael Scott Smith