Soccer Crop

Photo courtesy White Barn Farm

So over this last year my wife and I have partaken in a community farm (CSA) in Wrentham named White Barn Farm. It is a really cool place, run by some really nice folks who grow organic vegetables of which we purchase a share for the season and have enjoyed fresh veggies now for just about the whole year. For those interested they also have a roadside stand they run that is just out if the world!

Well, these folks put on a farm dinner the other night which was particularly excellent. They paired with Tastings (of Patriot Place fame who supplied their master chef for the evening) as well as Franklin Honey, and Burnshirt Valley Farms, for a tremendous organic and completely farm raised dinner. It was a fantastic event that I hope they do again soon.

We sat with some really nice folks and enjoyed conversation for the evening. One couple we dined with were the owners of Tastings and learned about their fascinating story of how Tastings came to be, and their deep roots in the community.

We also sat with a very nice couple from a Northwest suburb of Boston. Somehow the conversation turned to sports briefly and the gentleman shared his opinion about being an O-35 player, his team, how they were doing, and how much he enjoyed the league and playing. I was taken back in the most positive of ways at just how much he loved the game as he expressed himself. For whatever reason I did not expect to run into such a conversation in that setting.

Later on in the evening, I heard off in the distance someone mutter, "... Manchester United ...", and in the next sentence, "... Chelsea ... ." It was at this point in time despite being engrossed in a conversation I had to stop and listen for just a second to get some context.

A few places down I head one of the farm owners and another restaurant owner and chef discussing the days EPL results and their comments about the play and refereeing. Now I was blown away. Not so much about the topics, but about the passion that these folks were speaking about it. They were *really* into these teams and clearly were knowledgeable fans.

It was another reminder of something that JAFO says often, that Soccer Is Life.

This was yet another affirmation of that truism and a lesson for me of just how amazingly true that is.