Cherlyn Conway
The latest shenanigans of neighbors and friends on Osprey, Brant, Cinnamon, and Willet, better known as NxNW, off the northeast side of Michelle Way, involved games, dancing, food, and music in the air.
The NxNW team took to the playing field on Oct. 20 for a tailgate party. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, since it was the bye week for the Dallas Cowboys. The fall weather seemed to be on injured reserve, as temperatures were above average yet again. It didn’t feel much like football weather, but we were determined to have a great time.
The neighbors arrived with their appetizers, salads, side dishes, and desserts to complement the menu of chicken sliders and sloppy joes. The arriving game players were warming up and sizing up the competition, and trash-talking could be heard. Music was not the only thing in the air.
There were three games to compete in, with scorekeepers and referees to keep everyone honest. No warm-up or practice shots were allowed in any game, with a three-round rule, which would take the best of three scoring chances from each game.
The axe throwing game was most popular, with fierce competition. Each round consisted of four axes and four stars being tossed. Each color on the target held a value for landing pieces, and that value was added to the score of that round. With the plastic axes and targets, no damage or injury occurred to a person or property, except maybe a deflated ego for missing the target completely.
The line at the bucket toss gave time to strategize “overhand or underhand throwing option.” Participants had 12 mini footballs in each round to try to land in any of the nine buckets filled with water. Each row had a certain point value. It seemed there was quite a bit of trash-talking coming to the line, like this was going to be easy peasy—well, not so much, based on the total points on the scoresheet.
The football grid throw game had a nine-square grid, with each having point value. Six Nerf footballs were thrown at the squares. For every square knocked down, those points were totaled to get a final score. This game did survive the abuse it got from those who thought they had a great throwing arm, but those who had to hunt the footballs that were nowhere close to the target could tell you a different story.
No trophies were handed out, and the players who achieved the most points for first and second place in each game did a victory walk to the prize table for a selection of prizes. Not everyone had that competitive spirit, and they enjoyed being the cheerleaders or visiting with their friends. Some line dancing was attempted, but the street was not very friendly to the dancers.
You might have been out for a Sunday drive or walk and saw or heard the fun on the cul-de-sac and said, “Well, there’s NxNW at it again!” We’re not done with 2024. Come by our neighborhood around the holidays for a true holiday welcome!