It was a shock to go from the bright, breezy afternoon air to the dark recesses of Babes, the iconic Carytown bar on the corner of Cary Street and Auburn Avenue. It took my eyes a second to adjust to the dim interior which was populated with barstools, pool tables, an arcade machine and not much else at 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon. In the corner, Mauricio sat by himself beside what appeared to be a stack of Absolut vodka bottles covered in mirrorball tiles. He looked relieved to see Dwayne, Isabel and me come through the door.

We walked out the back door to the patio and volleyball court beyond, where Jim and Mandy were gathered around a round plastic table with some friends. We said our hellos while removing our shoes and socks and stowed all of our cell phones and keys and glasses and cameras in Isabel’s purse. Mauricio snatched up one of the bright yellow volleyballs sitting by the net and we began to warm up. Jim and one of his friends joined us.

We hit the ball back and forth in a fumbly 3-on-3 but eventually got some good volleys going. The sand was hard packed under six inches of soft, and the net was nice and low, allowing for easier spikes (or rather, spike attempts).

I could feel the sun beating down on my arms and face. “Did anyone remember to bring any sunblock?” No one responded. “Damn!”

I waved over to Mandy who was busily hanging up our Brick banner on the back wall “Are you going to play?” She shook her head no and explained that she’d wrecked her bike last night while riding around town and had hurt her herself. She demonstrated her inability to lift her arm above her shoulder. “Fair enough.” I said as Clay and Korey came walking up the steps. “All Right! More players!”

Korey waved me off. “I spent all night puking. I’m out!” He sat down at the table with a large bottle of water. Clay squinted into the sun and looked groggy. He was already holding a vodka and RedBull. “How about you?” I asked. “Ready for some V-ball?”

“I just finished playing disc golf with Ryan out at Gillies. Give me a minute.” He stood by the net and watched as the rest of us got back to the game. After a few minutes he set down his drink and joined in. Korey joined us for a few rounds, too, and we had some solid 4-on-4 until suddenly Jim gave a shout.

“There’s something in the sand!” He yelled and began sweeping through the sand with his foot. “I sliced open my toe!”

Sure enough, Jim had opened up a sizeable gash across the bottom of his big tow. A chunk of skin flapped around ominously. “It’s fine, just hand me that duct tape.” He grabbed the roll that Mandy had used to hang the banner, taped up his toe and rejoined the game.

A large group of people had gathered for drinks on the patio and a few of them stood up and asked if they could join in. We gladly accepted and shuffled around to make room.

“We’re not very good, so be warned,” said Matt as the four of them got into position.

“Have you been watching us play? You’ve got nothing to worry about!” said Jim.

The game got decidedly better and we strung together some volleys. “It’s almost like we know what we’re doing out here!” said Dwayne and then did a double take. “Hey Tod, your leg is bleeding.”

I looked at the blood trickling down my shin from a nasty scrape on my knee. I walked to the sidelines to wash it off. Mandy appeared with a First Aid kit from inside. “They said we can just keep it out here.”

“Good!” said Brian, another of the newcomers. “I’m bleeding, too!”

“This sand is rougher than the Jersey shore!” added Rob as he put the ball back into play. “I used to live there. I should know!”

“It’s not just that,” said Mauricio, digging in the sand with his toe “It’s not hardpack under the sand… it’s cement!”

“All right, no more throwing myself haphazardly into the sand.” I said, returning to my position. However, a few minutes later, I was picking myself up out of the sand after landing squarely on my back during a reckless dive for the ball. “Ugh. I’m gonna feel that one in the morning.” It took me a second to catch my breath. “I think this is our roughest Brick event to date!”

The game continued and the even though we weren’t playing for points, the game began to get competitive. The small crowd relaxing on the patio began to hoot and cheer at dramatic spikes and impressive blocks. In a scramble to rescue a errant bump, Brian nailed the ball hard and it ricocheted point blank off of Isabel’s cheek. She spun around and collapsed into a ball in the sand. Everyone rushed over to make sure she was all right. With her hands over her face, we couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying. Luckily, she was laughing and Brian walked her off the field, apologizing profusely. “I’m fine! Really!” she proclaimed, but took a break from the game for a few minutes to shoot some pictures.

My face and neck were starting to feel a little crispy and Dwayne was looking pink. We’d been playing for nearly three hours. The energy and enthusiasm levels began to dwindle all around and we left the court one by one bruised, battered and bleeding. While we never got a full tournament or permanent teams established, we had a fabulous time. Drinking beers and playing pick-up volleyball is a great way to spend a low-key Sunday afternoon. We plan to go back to Babes for more. Perhaps we’ll see you there! 

BABES OF CARYTOWN
3166 W. Cary St.
Richmond, VA
355-9330

I would like to ad that I woke up feeling stellar this past Sunday. Unlike our the day at Babes..

though on the typical Sunday I am normally a bit foggy

additional injury update. I officially have a hair-line fracture just below (near my palm) my large knuckle on my ring finger. It’s nothing major but after muay thai and playing Rock Band on xbox my finger got really irritated and swelled near to he size of a golf ball. I have to keep it splinted for the next week and sports taped to my other finger after that. 2-3 weeks? I should be back to 100%. Until then… typing really sucks…

This is the single worst article I’ve read through. Boring, stupid, and without any hooks to the story, just sounds like another rambling rva kid, spouting out more of only what he knows, and not what he discovers. Sorry this sounds harsh but why did this get published at all?

UPDATEs and clarifications:  Mandy’s arm is actually broken from the bike ride the day before.  Korey was hung over from consuming massive quantities of Captain Morgan the night before.  Also explains why he was going around with one leg in the air saying “YAR” all afternoon.  Clay was just hung over period....probably typical for him on a Sunday...heh.

Special thanks to Friends of Brick Philmore, Nikki, Amy and JD for coming out with us!

Oh yeah...and it was my “toe” that was injured and not my “tow”.  Blasted spellcheck!