Courtyard Bowling

I squeezed under the apartment door and marched all the way down the stairwell, determined to catch the afternoon breeze. Out in the quiet brick courtyard, I spotted a lost glass marble wedged deep in a mortar seam. A quick tug popped it free, but rolling it across the gritty ground was too slow. I dragged a dry wooden craft stick from beneath a shrub and propped it against a chipped terracotta tile shard to make a launch ramp. One firm tap with my round knuckles sent the marble zooming down the wood and smacking squarely into an upright acorn cap. *Clack!* Building courtyard bowling alleys beats pacing across living room rugs any day.