This was the title of a little story featuring Cynthia Heinrichs and posted in the SF Chronicle about a decade ago.
At the time, this titillating headline surely drew some attention since everybody (secretly) loves dirt… especially when it is French. But there was not really anything indecent about Cynthia and her activity.
The writer (Sam Whiting) was talking about pétanque which is indeed played in the dirt, stuff enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
Cynthia said that she became aware of the game during her honeymoon in the South of France and subsequently became a convert. She was 74 when the article was published, and today, even though she is not as quick on her feet as 10 years ago, she still can be seen frolicking in the dirt on the San Rafael court.
The beauty of this game is that it can be played anywhere, by anybody, regardless of age or physical condition, and octogenarians (and even nonagenarians) can commonly be seen on our local fields.
This discipline, which is fairly easy to master, nevertheless requires some stamina. Some people are amazed to discover that during a single session (which can last from 2 to 4 hours) you can cover a surprising amount of ground and burn a significant amount of calories.
I guarantee that, even if you have some trouble sleeping, if you play in a tournament (lasting between 5 to 6 hours) you definitely won’t have any problem falling in the arms of Morpheus.
Warning! the game is highly addictive and will take a fair amount of time. Yes, it will deprive you of many hours of TV watching and induce some initial discomfort. But it will pass very quickly. Soon you will eat and sleep pétanque and bore everybody with your fantastic boules stories.
America is currently highly divided by many political and medical issues and would greatly benefit by adopting this “dirty” game on a national level.
Like Robert De Niro, Mick Jagger, Johnny Depp, Yves Montand, Morley Safer, Peter Gabriel, Diane Kruger, etc. the President could help to reunite the nation by adopting and promoting this unique common people’s pastime. If he ever did, reelection would be a cinch.
You can also read an excellent article about pétanque (How boules got cool) in the Guardian.
Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing your story with us.
Alain