BPR Talks 8/14/26: Pickleball Feud

Support for Boston Public Radio comes from MIT Sloan Executive Education, offering short courses on critical topics led by world-class faculty. Professionals can get up to speed on AI, innovation, cybersecurity, and operational strategy. More at executive.mit.edu. And bonsai Bar, learning something new can be as fun as a night out with friends. Come hang out, dig in, and discover the joy of tiny trees. More at bonsai Bar.com. I'm Jim Browdy. I'm Marjorie Egan. And this is BPR Talks, where we feature the call-in segments from the day. If you're looking for the full two hours of guests, you can find the whole episode right here in the same feed. Today and the podcast? The Shore is on our minds this Friday, so we'll open the phone and text lines to talk with you. With beach closers for cyanobacteria, bird nesting, and our gifony and stay laws. What's lost when we can't get to the water's edge. I'm Marjorie Eak. We'll end the show with you and Bickle Ball. Over in Mashby. Strong-out resonance has a swacking and the thumping and the thumping as gutting out of hand on the pickleball court. What is your stance? And here's the show.

So we head into the dog days of summer. We're going to open the lines to ask you about your beach-going activities. In Duxbury, Billy Baker writes, in the globe, residents are vying for beach access with nesting shorebirds. All along the coast, piping plover nesting areas are often taped off, with explicit instructions for beachgoers not to disturb the area. That's great for the birds. What about us? And by the way, we should be clear of wildlife protections, Marvie and I. are generally 100% behind. We like the piping plovers. We do. We like them. Very much. There's also something that Marjorie complains about all the time. Like 40 beaches closed because of cyanobacteria or other bacteria exceedance is the term. But that's not even the biggest problem. This is the biggest problem. There are the wealthiest among us who think they own the seashore, sometimes calling the cops on people walking their portion of the sand and sea. Here's the law in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, property owners own to the low tide line. We, the public, have a right to fish, to navigate, and to foul, whatever foul means. FOWL. It's shooting birds. How the hell do you know what it is? I looked it up this morning. That's what it means. Okay, whatever. I don't see too many people down at the shoreline with rifles. What's navigate mean? Navigate. You don't know what that means either. It means you get in a boat, Jim, and you navigate. And you navigate. Okay, fine. You can navigate. You can fish, she can foul along the shoreline. The courts have actually ruled the public right to the shoreline does not include the right to even walk, sunbathe, or whatever it is. Some legislators are trying to add the word recreate to foul fish and navigate. And by the way, if you read Chris Burrell, our colleague, has done great work on this, 12%. Only 12% of the coastline in this state is open. Well, it's not even open in all cases, but available to the public. So beach access and you. Have you lost out on beach time to the birds, bacteria, Brahmin's, Nimbie town managers, or some combo of the four? And what should be done about it? Give us color text, 87-301-89-7. Okay, I just want to straighten out the meaning of fouling, Jim. It's hunting, shooting, or trapping wild birds for food. You don't see that going on very much at the beach. How many people in the audience have fouled in the last 12 months? Very many. So it's not that valuable. No, it's not that valuable. But one of the things you should be. You didn't mention it's places like Marshfield Situate and Ipswich, you can't park at the beach or there's very limited parking if you don't live in Marshfield, Situate or Ipswich. What's worse than that? And the problem is that the state is paying for update of those beaches. So Massachusetts taxpayers are paying for update of those beaches and seawalls and stuff, but you may not be able to get a parking space there. Do you want me to fix that law in two seconds? If you're getting $1 of taxpayer money beyond the borders of your city or town, it's got to be open to the public. If it's not, you don't get the tax money. And that, however, and you know, by the way, you know who the champion of beach access has been?

in the, I don't know how long, 40 years I've lived in Massachusetts. Billy Bulger. Bill Bulger, brother of Whitey Bulger. He was obsessed with this thing. And there have been attempts to take some of this land by eminent domain, but then the fear is it'll be considered a taking and the state will have to compensate people. But it seems to me the proposal, I think, by the state senator and the rep from the Cape, to add the word recreate, meaning you can do fun stuff on somebody else's property about the low tide line. Why isn't it the high tide line, by the way? Why couldn't be the high tide line? If you want to walk on the beach in Massachusetts, you have to walk in the water. You do, literally, you do, or you have to go fouling. Although I see, yeah, well, yeah, that's right. Maybe, maybe Whitey Balger would like to do some fouling along the shoreline. I don't know. Textor is reporting that in Duxbury Beach, which I guess gets... close a large portion of it, maybe the whole thing for the piping plovers. The piping plovers have hatched and they are migrating so the fences on the Duxbury Beach are gone. 877301-8970 is the number. Do you feel deprived in the summertime that you can't go enough of the beaches, the ocean beaches, mostly that people are talking about, or even the town beaches in your town. And you know what is really terrible? We have this list. of ponds that are closed. I mean, how many, this is like, what, 50 ponds are closed and lakes are closed because of cyanobacteria. It's terrible. Yeah. 8773-1-8-970. No, it's the number if you're upset about this. Property owners own up to, they own up to the... Not the high tide line, but the low tide line. Yeah, and that's where Massachusetts is different. In other states, it's the high tide line. Well, that was my point. Why can't you change that? And again, that might be seen as it taking, and they might go to court, but then let them challenge the damn thing. By the way, it really is array. This is not faux anger. Doesn't that drive you nuts that you can't get access to beaches? 88% of the coastline of the state. is unavailable to mere mortals. What do you think of that? Well, I think if you want to go to some of these very popular beaches, especially in the North Shore, and you want to get there and you're not from there, then you've got to get there really early to find a place to park. Well, actually, remember what Katie Theoretis, who runs trustees, a reservation told us last year, which my kid is used, one of my kids is used, you can now make a reservation, at least at Wingersheek, I think, one of those beaches up there. That's in Gloucester. You can make a parking reservation online and pay for it. and you get in at a specific time so you have to stay in line for hours and hours. 877330. We'll take some calls. Nick and Hartford, you're next on BPR. Welcome to the show. Hi. Hey, you guys. How's your Friday going? So pretty well. Very well, actually. Thank you. Hi. What's up? No, I just wanted to say I agree that if there's any sort of public funds going to assist with trying to mitigate the effects of coastline erosion, people should at least be allowed to walk. I understand if people don't want people like leaving trash or whatever on their beach.

And this is probably as much of a compromise as I'll make with these. For example, I think golf courses should all be public. There should be no private golf courses. But when it comes to our shared coastline, there should be a bit more flexibility by the legislature for this. You know what this pathetic legislature would do, though? They would say you can walk across people's property above the low tide line, but you can't pause, meaning as long as it keep moving. It's perfectly fine. By the way, that to me seems to be a totally reasonable compromise, what Nick is talking about, which is not a taking. Allowing someone to cross your property as they're walking seems to be great. But you do see. I mean, in fairness, I mean, I spent a lot of beach at the time at the beach down the Cape. And people do walk. I've walked across where there are people's private homes. Can I tell you something? They can stop you. It's not fishing, fowling, or navigating. Trust me. There's something wrong where it's okay to stand there with a shotgun and shoot foul, but it's not okay to walk across there. But they don't stop him in general. How do you fish if you can't stand on the property? Well, you have to stand in the water. That's the point. You got to be, you're going to be, well, yes, you have to be below. Well, I don't know about that. I don't know enough about fouling Jim, but I know that you can walk. Not about fishing, not fouling. It was the same thing. I think, I don't know enough the reason that we understand. You have to shoot the bird from the water? I can. I guess so. I don't know. I've never seen it. But I do know, at least at the beaches I go to the big Craigville beach down the Cape, you can walk in front of people's property there. The fact that you can doesn't mean that you are legally entitled to. I would like legal protection. I never see people being arrested or anything like that for doing it. Okay, Tom, you're in, nobody's calling from Massachusetts. They're all from Connecticut or Florida. Tom, you're in Naples, Florida. Welcome to the show. What's a deal in Florida? Well, it's the same type of thing, but my point is, can't we sacrifice anything as humans? I mean, these birds are having their babies right now. Oh, that we should do. I agree. It's like, you know, do we want to walk through the maternity ward and we get upset if we can't? So, I mean, you've got to think about the reality of these birds. These are their babies. We're fine with the bird protection thing. It's not the bird protection. It's the other protection that's driving us nuts. Well, not everybody's fine. I mean, Billy Baker's got a piece in the globe today, and that's what he's talking about, Tom, that people are upset in Duxbury. Some guy was complaining he drove up to Duxbury Beach, and he couldn't get in there because the piping plovers were there. But, you know, and the turns. Well, that's what I mean. I used to live in Duxbury. You did? And I'd go across Pott of Point Bridge and occasionally parts were closed. And even as a young kid, I respected the fact that these mothers are having babies right now. Do I really have to drive? drive my four-wheel drive to here today and drink beer on the beach. You should be dating Cy Montgomery, Tom. Hey, Tom. Hi, Tom. Oh, I love that. I think you're wrong about Florida. I don't mean to be disrespectful. I was on, can you Jamie take a look at this? I was under the impression that Florida, other than having Ron DeSantis, which obviously is a real problem, other than Ron DeSantis, I was under the impression that Beaches were pretty much accessible. Almost without exception. No, no. Didn't you read the text? I did. Go ahead. Read it. That in Florida, Donald Trump owns the sand, and you can only stay on the sand if you're inside a catering car. That's exactly.

That's exactly right. So, that's a good one. Tom, thanks for calling him. Take care yourself. I don't know. Oh, he's gone now. He is gone now. These oversized vehicles that riddle around the sand, do we need those? No. I don't think those are probably very environmentally good. But they have to be fishing, fowling, or navigating, by the way. Who came up with it? Who is responsible? Well, that's what's so ridiculous. Well, colonial ordinance of 1941 to 1947, but they say this harkens back to ancient laws, to ancient Roman laws, according to the... Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Maybe we can revise that. It's been A couple of thousand years since the Roman laws were made. I think it was. A couple of texts of bare reading. Anonymous texter. I recently had friends from college visit from California. They spent two nights in Chatham and said they never saw the ocean. You either need a house on the water or be a resident to even see the ocean. And Chatham, it's absurd. Another anonymous text was out. I heard Jim was thrown off the beach. He said he was fowling, but he was looking for fried chicken and fries. They said the fries didn't count. Thank you very much. It's a good one. Jody and Kay. Thank you for calling. Hello, Jody. Hi, love you guys. Thanks. Thank you. This subject is infuriating for me. Me too. I mean, if you have to pay taxes, why are we paying for their private beaches? Why? We should be able to use it. It should be public, like in Hawaii. Every beach is public. I didn't know that. They have to have a public access. Even if it's a fancy hotel that has to be a public asset, and there has to be public parking in Hawaii. That's fabulous. That is fabulous. By the way, Jody, you know what we're going to do, you made me think, when Governor Healy is with us in September, we don't have a date yet, we're going to ask her, who would not, what leader would not support? some compromise here, including no tax dollars for state tax dollars for a community if they don't make their beaches open everybody. Well, I think some of the leaders in these small towns, listen to this. Marshfield received $1.2 million from the state last fall to renourish a critically eroded shoreline along its Bay Avenue Beach. Situate got $2 million. Wait, and they don't let people in there, right? They have a small number of parking spaces for non-residents. Do you think that's a problem? Well, I think it probably is a problem. want a nearly $2 million grant last fall to replenish all these 26,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel at the north situate beach. There, they sell just a few hundred beach stickers to non-residents, and they cost $350. That's outrageous. It really, it really is outrageous, says Jimmy. D.D. You're an Ipswich. You're next on BPR. Welcome to the show. Hi. Hey, how are you? We're pretty good, I think. Hi, how are you? Great. Good. Very good. Very good. So I'm actually sharing the fact that I moved up at Switch in 2011, and my best part about getting here was that I got to get on the beach for $20 a year. That's great. And I have to say it's really upsetting that people don't have the same access that I do. I think it's very exclusive.

anyone should be able to access our beautiful shores. I always offer people my car because I have the sticker or we have a boat and I'd love to take them out. I just don't think it's there. We have a small beach called Pavilion and a person in the town actually brought, I don't know how you describe it, but they They put into legislation to be able to make our civilian beach exclusive so that only residents can be there. And I think it's unacceptable. So the car gets towed or you get ticketed. It's ridiculous. And it's ridiculous. Back in May, I think it was May, the select board there voted to tighten the beach access. voting to ban non-residents from beach parking throughout the summer. Is this a zip switch? The zip switch and increase parking fines around that beach from $30 to $50. Hey, Dee, before you go. And prevent non-residents from parking in the neighborhood. Listen to this. This will prevent non-residents from parking in the neighborhoods and walking to the beach, said the chief of police. Wow, they're really tough up there. There also, as an amendment says, you can't breathe near the beach either. They're trying so they create a buffer zone. Deity, before you go away, when you say you lend your car to people because it's got a sticker, these are people who are friends, I assume. Like, yes? Well, I might let you borrow my card, Chip, if you're kind to me. That actually was my point. Didi, thanks for the call. We really appreciate it. That's a good soul, by the way, a decent human being. Oh, I'm being corrected by Benjamin Netanyahu in Brighton when I said, the colonial ordinances were 1941. They were 1641 to 1647 to incentivize construction of wharfs and piers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I don't think we have that reason anymore, do we? I'm not sure. 877, 301, 89, 70 is the number. Paul from West Roxbury. Thank you for calling. Yes, thank you for taking my call. Sure. Over the years, I've been frustrated that all these pretty much wealthy beach or waterfront properties are making all these demands that you're discussing. Yeah. And yet... Anytime there's a hurricane, they're the first one to the state house saying, look, we need them out. Great point. Yeah. So what would you do if you were a state legislator, Paul, and they sought help? What would you do if you were a state legislator, not from that community? The community is damaged by a storm. They come to this, and this is a community that doesn't allow beach access to anybody except those who live there, and they come for help to the state house. What do you do? Well, you can't do things on the spot. You have to do it preemptively, you know, previously. Okay, so what should the law be? What should the law be? If you're going to demand people not to come onto your property on the beach, then put it into some law. Hurricane comes.

Apply for your own insurance. I'm with you. Paul, thank you much for the call. Well, I think what you could do is just say that if you're going to take money from the state of Massachusetts to fix your beach, then you've got to allow people from Massachusetts to go. 8773-1-8-970 is the number. Lisa from, oh, Rhode Island has got beautiful beaches, tons of beaches. Hi. Glad you called Lisa. Hi there. Hi. Do you hear me? Yes. A few years ago, I think like three years ago, Rhode Island made all public access to all beaches, even if you own the property. Wow. So it's like 10 feet from the high tide line where it's marked by seaweed. So what do you mean? You can walk on it, you can sit on it. Nobody owns the shore. Wow, I didn't know that. The whole public is what she's saying. That's pretty incredible. Now, Lisa, you may not know this, but in Massachusetts, the argument against doing exactly that is it would be a taking under the Constitution and the property owners, and essentially your state is taking their property to which they had exclusive access and they'd have to be compensated, which would be immense. Was that an issue in Rhode Island or you don't know? I don't believe, so I can't even imagine that, no. But I know. But I know. But Lisa, if that was the case, because we have a lot of shorelines. I know you do. It's beautiful, too. I think there are parts of Newport that, where you have to belong to certain parts of the beach to go, or in Narragansett. There's parts of Rhode Island. You know, there's beach clubs, right? Remember Sheldon White House? That's it. Go ahead. Go ahead. But those are higher up. The clubhouse is higher, but where the high tide line is, you can walk and sit and see it above that high tide line. That's fabulous. That's great. I think that's great. And by the way, Lisa, thanks for the call. The least the legislature could be doing is moving the... rights of the property owner from the low tide line of the high tide line. It's a lot of ground there. We're unusual. We are unusual. You know what's great? Most days you can swim in Boston Harbor now. If you go over to South Boston, you go over to Castle Island, you can swim there. I mean, that is a real... happy result of all that legislation years ago, the water resources when they cleaned up the Boston Harbor. I mean, most of the time you can swim, and that's a public beach. It's open to everybody. You can usually park there, too. Can I ask you a legal question? Yes, Jim. This is from an anonymous text, and I think you're the person to answer it. For the beach access discussion, which is what we're having, why is it walking from one side of the property to the other along the water considered navigating? Marjorie, please take that. Well, I think, I'm not sure, Jim, but I think that's because you navigate in something like you're navigating in the car or on the bike or in the boat, but I could be wrong. Would you like to answer that question? No, I wouldn't. But it's an excellent question, and we will refer it to our legal team in the very near future. Okay, let's squeeze in one more call here. Bob from Northborough, thank you for calling. Hi, Bob.

Hi. The lakes, a lot of these lakes around Massachusetts are locked up where owners, I can hear myself. That's okay. That's okay. It's our fault. They own all the property around the lake and you can't get to your boat in. It's horrible. It's horrible. Yeah. Why don't you organize the neighbors and, like, storm the lake, Rob? Have you thought about that? Yeah. I'm serious. I mean, it's ridiculous. But don't some of the big lakes, you know, Long Pond and Harwich, I think that's the biggest lake in the Cape, they have these public access places. I mean, what lakes are you talking about, Rob? There's a small lake in Northboro. I can't think of the name right now, but it's surrounded by camps in our houses. And you just can't use it except the owners. And there's several other lakes like that in Massachusetts. Oh, there definitely are. They're absolutely there. Rob, thanks for the cold. Michelle and. Good luck to you. Thank you, Rob. Michelle in Chowin, New Hampshire says, well, we don't have sidewalks in New Hampshire. We've made some fun of that. We have a lot of lake shoreline and a little ocean available to the public. Winipasaki is a huge lake that people can go to. You heard of that, too. I have. Why doesn't the legislature do anything about this? Would you not agree that, unless you live one of these little coastal towns, everybody in Massachusetts is on one side of this? You ask me all the time why the legislature doesn't do anything about it? You know, because they almost do nothing about almost anything, which is really too bad. But since most people don't get involved in their legislature, that kind of keeps happening. Why don't you champion this issue, by the way? I mean, I'm serious. You're like a cape person part-time. the issues. I do understand the issues. You were the only person I knew who knows the definition of fouling, which would help you if you were lobbying at the statehouse and a legislator said, Ms. Egan, what is fouling? You know, how long do you think you last on the shoreline in the state of Massachusetts if you were there with your rifle shooting birds? I just don't see... A taxis said it isn't a rifle. It's a shotgun. Okay, well, even worse. I just don't see how that's going to work out.

Support for Boston Public Radio comes from Newbury Court, serving Concord, Massachusetts for 30 years as a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community dedicated to older adults. More at newberrycourt.org. Support for Boston Public Radio comes from the Cape Playhouse in Dennis Village, now playing Tina Faye's Broadway comedy hit Mean Girls, rooting for the new girl in high school in this warm and snarky musical. Tickets for Mean Girls at Cape Playhouse.com. After years of complaints about this sound, Thank you. I love those five-second delays, by the way. That is a pickable, okay, enough of that. That's a pickable thwacking sound. Great story in the globe today by Brian Hecht about a situation in Massachusetts. This coastal Massachusetts town has taken action, and they have instituted a quiet ball rule. It's called Marjorie. As of this week, players at Mashabee's public pickleball courts. Love saying pick a bowl, must switch from the classic plastic bowls, which cost almost nothing, to a new noise-reducing foam or 3D printed bowl. The most expensive ones are 50 bucks a pop, but they got cheaper ones. They're $3 or $30. Now, but still a lot of money. Anyone who dares whack loudly must go toe-to-to-to against one man who lives so close to the courts, he hears the ball noise endlessly during waking hours. They're open 8 a.m. to 7. 30 p.m. That is really an aggravating sound. Okay, can we play that one more time please? I think I'm on his side. Okay, one more time. Okay, I mean, but that person's like sitting on the net. I mean... Well, he is 200 and... Oh, my God. Okay, we heard it. I mean, we heard it. He is 200. I'm not done yet, by the way. Ernie Barrows, 250 feet from his house. Fine. Okay. So he's so fed. Good. Ernie Barros, whoever he is, is so fed up with a noise. He's retained, I love this. Marjorie told me about this this morning. A pickable noise solutionist. That's this guy's job. Who tours the country taking sound readings for fed up constituents. He successfully sued the town of Falmouth. I didn't know this, to permanently close the pickable court near his home. So here's the question. Pickable enthusiasts, and by the way, it's still the fastest growing sport in America. They say as many as 48 million people, which I cannot believe are playing? What do you have to say for yourselves? And more broadly, is the time to end the tyranny of the ping and the thwump and the thwack of pickle, or are you a pickable enthusiast who would rather they pry the handle paddle from your cold? dead hands. The number's 877-301-89-7. You play pickleball? No, I've never played pick-a-ball. Do you play pick-a-ball? No, I haven't played pick-a-ball. But tensions are really high over this in Mashby. It's been Ernie Barrow says it's been a hatred campaign against him. He's getting crucified on social media. On the other hand, 600 people have signed these petition. They do not want this to change. They're very upset. They're bishop.

passionate about their pickleball, but this isn't just happening in Mashby. Apparently, it's happening in Wellesley. Wellesley. Last year, they have banned pickleball at certain courts in Wellesie and Kiddery Mann. They did the same thing. In Nantucket, they floated banning picket balls anywhere on the island. Wow. People are driven insane by the pickleball sounds. He says, he hears it. in his sleep. Can I ask you a question? I don't mean to disparage any of these people involved, either the pickleball noise solutionist or the gentleman you mentioned. Imagine that for a job. If 48 million people have played, I know, I know. Pickleball. What do you say to your friends? What do you do for a living? Pickleball noise solutionist. Parents are very proud of this guy. In any case. If they're, I'm not questioning the honesty, enough of the sound, it's driving me nuts. No, I love this stuff. Okay, well, I don't like it. Okay, fine, we're in the spirit. And let me just say this. What am I saying? Oh, if 48 million people allegedly are playing pickleball, have you ever heard the thwack of the pickleball? No, I don't live here. Neither have I. Well, that's because you live in a dense... There's no place to put a pickleball where you live. No place to put a pickleball where I live. But poor Ernie here... Lives near a pickleball? Well, he moved to this house years ago, a dead-end street. Can I tell you what the solution is? What's the solution? The solution is not either banning pickleball, nor is it the expensive replacement ball. You know what it is? What? Hearing it. If they practiced... What's Hege again? Tell people where... Hege is like some Nordic crap where you like... It's a comfort. It's a comfort thing. That's right. Calm yourself down and you won't have to hire a pickable noise solutionist at great expense. I think that's Ernie's point. Ernie's point that is not a very common kind of situation. By the way... Because it was such upset about the $50 apiece balls, they decided that you can get cheaper balls. Did you say that? Yeah, but it's still not cheap. $3 to $30 is not cheap per bowl. The actual pickle ball, which I've neither ever played with nor have I ever seen, it costs like cents kind of thing. How many people in the audience play pickleball? It's like five people. There's Eger. There aren't four. Of course he plays pickleball. Of course. Okay. 8773-101-8970 is the number. Who side of you on here? The beleaguered neighbor who is being driven slowly bananas by all these pickleball sounds or the enthusiasts who are so passionate about this sport that they packed meetings in Mashpee to fight for their right. That's a sore topic. I would say there are more people in Mashpee. protesting the quiet pickleball ball, then there are protesting in America, the war in Iran. Would you say that's a fair statement? Jim, we don't have time to protest. Because we're playing pickleball. Because we're playing pickleball. Okay, fine. Dan and Hopkins, I really can't take the sound anymore. That's enough. Thank you. Dan, welcome to the show. Hello. Now, that's a horse. Hello, hello. Hi, Dan, how are you? Your first time caller? Your first time caller? Well, thank you for both.

Yeah, go. So I'm a tennis player, and I've been playing tennis for, you know, 40 years, and every time I see a tennis court that gets resurfaced and turned into a pickleball court, I just get so angry. I understand that. Why is that? Why do you get so angry, Dan? Because they're taking away tennis courts. Yeah. And they're adding lines to tennis courts, and it's just very, very hard to track where the ball is supposed to go. You know, you never hear people. Wait, wait, how do you feel inside when you see a tennis court that's been converted to a pickleball court? How do you feel, Dan? Oh, it makes me angry. You can tell. You know, Dan, you never hear anybody complaining about the sound of tennis, do you? No, you don't. No. Why is that? No. Because we've got felt balls. Nice, quiet, felt balls. Yeah, nice, quiet, soft balls. Dan, that was an excellent first topic to Cole on. Cole again soon. Thank you very much for your contribution. He is wildly against the conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts. And you don't hear people complaining about that. You don't hear people complaining about basketball courts either. Pickleball courts seem to be making a lot of noise. Maybe it's because the sound would keep playing that they're very upset about. Now, these... tennis balls that they want to replace, not pickleball balls that they want to replace the balls with. They're called the vortex ball. As you said, 150 bucks for three in a pack. But the pickleball players are very upset about this. They're calling them garbage. Garbage. And they're saying it's outrageous that they should be required to play with this softer ball. And they just won't have it. They're very, I mean, these pickleball people. 599 of those 600 protesters that never protested anything in their life until the quiet ball was introduced in Mashpee. And that was a bridge or a bull too far. Mia and Salem, welcome to the show. Hi there. Hi there. Whoops, we lose you already? Oh, listen to this. Wait, wait, wait. Mia's in the middle. Oh, sorry, Mia. Go ahead. You're still there? We lose you. Can you hear me okay? Yes, we can. Perfectly. Take it away. All right. Excellent. So, hi. I appreciate this. I was actually just a mashbee and can attest that there was a lot of pickleball happening. But I started a few years ago, got the spanchy, spanchy gym membership just to play pickleball and had to drop the membership. But now I'm here a.m., years later, recovering from surgery and looking to get back to sports. And I've realized more now, like, how accessible it is. like you can really set your own tone and pace depending on who you're playing with. You can either do like still like dink back and forth or, you know, it's just like a leisurely type of sport where you can set your own face or you can go hard and, you know, slam it against the other team depending on who you're playing. You know, I'm so glad you called. We should have mentioned that point. I have a friend who shall remain unnamed who is the number one ranked woman in Pickable in New England. And she was actually a huge...

Yeah, she was like a world-place swimmer. I'll tell you off the air. Oh. You know, pick-a-ball, you hang on pick-a-ball players? Not really, but she's one of the most competitive people. I mean that as a compliment. Mia, what we hear from pickleball players whenever we talk about it is how collaborative, maybe that's not the right word, but how non-aggressively competitive it is for most people. Why is that? That's a great question. You'll have to ask the other non-competitive people in the world because I am quite competitive myself. However, again, it's just all about who you're playing with who's on your team. I've had leisure league games where I'm just looking to learn from other people who I'm playing with and other games where it's like, no, I know I can take these people down. Well, I tell you, I think the problem in Mashby is that they're over pickleballed. I think they're over pickleballed. I think they're over pickleballed. The town manager in Mashby said he has never endured such an attack from the townspeople. as this in two decades. Do you read the next paragraph? What? Those 600 people, none of them have been to work in years because once they took a pickleball, that's all they do. Well, listen to this. So wait, this person on YouTube says, and I am totally with this person, if they play the pickable noise again, I am done. And by the way, I am with that person. No, what is it? That's tennis. That's tennis. A lot of grunting goes on in tennis. They don't grunt in pickleball. No, they don't grunt. No. They do really grunted tennis. Yeah, they're no grunting in pickle. The Wellfleet Harbor Actors theater premiered a play two or three years ago, says a texter, called Pickleball Wars. Wellfleet is way ahead of the curve. It won a Tony, by the way. No. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. The play was very bad, says the texter, but they want to say that, you know, that wealthy was ahead of the game. Do you think, at my opinion, there aren't yet enough books on pickleball or plays on pickleball. No films. Do you know any pickleball films? What was that sexy movie about tennis? A couple of years ago. Oh, conversation or conversion. What was that thing called? Connections, something like that. Yeah, it was a very sexy movie about tennis. It began with the sea. Not that sea word. No, geez. Sheila from North Attleboro. Sheila, what's your deal? Hi, Jim Marjorie. Hi. Thank you. My kids in the neighborhood have taken to playing pickleball, so I have some empathy for the folks in Mashby. A couple of thoughts, suggestions. Maybe the tech people could come up with a soundproofing for the balls. That's an excellent idea. The expensive balls are theoretically like a lot less noise, but go ahead.

Okay, well that's one thing. One thing. And hours of operation, meaning, you know, they can only play at certain hours so you can plan accordingly. And earplugs. I don't know what else. to say. Oh, taxpayer-funded earplugs for the population. I like that. They have put up sound dampening and fencing, but apparently it's not quite doing the job. And I think there are eight pickleball chords in Mashpee. Mashpee's not a big place. How big is Mashpee? It's not very big. And then they go from 7.30 in the morning or 8 in the morning until 7.30. That's a long day for poor Mr. Burroughs. Let's play this sound one more time. No, let's not. Let's play it. This could be, you could be Mr. Burroughs. This is your back deck there in Mashby where you've lived for years. I mean, in all seriousness, you go out of your mind. You really would go out of your mind. You know what that sound makes me want to do? Become a pickable noise solutionist. When this radio thing cries up, that's next. Okay, enough, really, enough. The movie is challengers, it's not conversation. Okay. Heather from Cambridge, thank you for calling. Hello, Heather. Hi, Heather. What do you think? Hi. Hi. What do you think? Hi. I know about 30% of my friends who are between 50 and 60 something have taken up this sport in the last few years. Yeah. And they love it. And it has given them so much fitness and a lot of community. And I think that's all great. And honestly, I live pretty close to part-time to a pickleball court. down in Cape Cod, and I hear the kind of offline sound of the pickleball. I actually enjoy it because it makes me happy knowing people are happy. They're exercising. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You enjoy this? No, don't play the tennis grunting sound. Let's hear the pickle bowl sound. Don't go away. Just like that. You like that? That's awful. I do because it's at a distance. And I do admit it's at a distance, but it's enough just to hear that little. Back and forth. You're a very good person. Heather, that was very nice call. Thank you for making it. Picklers have no etiquette. They run into neighboring courts during tennis play to retrieve their ball, break the tennis court net, lower it to pickle height. They're loud and obnoxious get their own damn courts. That's pretty fierce. A lot of hostility there's a lot of hostility in Mashpee. Oh, we have a Mashpee caller. Frank, hello. Which side are you on, Frank? Hi, I'm actually on neither side. I don't play pickleball and the noise doesn't bother me. Perfect. But I just wanted to mention a couple of things. One is that there is an absolutely beautiful indoor pickle ball facility in Mashpee. No. Yeah, it's called Island Pickle. And it's got these stunning indoor courts. Really? It's got a great restaurant and bar. Okay. Do you own this place? And it's got indoor golf as well. Do you own it? Frank, do you own this place? Frank, do you own this place?

No, I don't. Okay. But we go there a lot just for, I don't play pickleball, but we go there for dinner or we watch the World Cup there. They've got big screen TVs and it's a beautiful spot. What is it called? Pickle Haven. What's it called again? What's the name of the joint? It's called Island Pickle. Island Pickle. Now, Frank, don't go away. Frank, have you met the Pickable Noise Solutionist in town or not? No. You've not. I avoid that kind of conflict. I'd rather protest the war. Okay, thank. Very good. Thank you, Frank. Donna and Hobbson. I got one other quick question. Sure, why not? Yeah. There is a movie called The Dink. It's on Apple TV. It's about pickleball. Oh, I'll be watching that. Thank you. The dick. Okay. It's filmed at Island Pickle, if you were not aware. The funny thing is, if the pickle ball was a pickle, the sound problem would be solved. That's a great point. Now, we're done with this because every few months, the staff, in an effort to get back at me or Marjorie or both, put together a little reel of mistakes. Of mistakes. One or both of us have made. I'm told, sadly, that most of this focus is this. month on you, Marjorie, but you're a good sport. So here is what they are called. Well, I don't even use that name. Here are some, let's call them bloopers. The bloopers. Can I call them bloopers? The bloopers. From recent PPR. Okay, we're ready. Everybody's into pornography is the bottom line. I just want to make sure I'm not missing some big cultural change here. A lot of women are bisexual. And that was something about shoving glizzy after glizzy. I guess that's their name for hot dogs. Down my gullet. Glizzy after glizzy down. Let's hope it's a hot dog. Yeah, that's right. How is the sex? It's like the number one. Not as good as you wanted to be. No heated rivalry. I like things with the bone in it. Okay, fine. They did look pretty good. It was very impressive. Well, I had a lizard once. You did not. I killed it by accident. What? Well, I choked to death on a cockroach. But I didn't need to kill the lizard. It was absolutely by a mistake. But, you know, I've become addicted to the sumo wrestler oranges. They're not sumo wrestler. I'm very upset. They kind of look like sumo wrestlers. There's a sumo wrestler and there's a sumo orange. Well, that's why I remember the name. That is an orange. They're big and they're juicy. Who was the guy who played that? Didn't he win? The movie. Colin first? The movie win? I don't know. I'm Jim Browdy. He's Marjoriegan. This is BPR 897 GBIH Live. What? I'm Jim Browdy. Oh, whoops. Sorry. I didn't do my breathing exercises today. So. A streaming at YouTube.com slash CBS. PBS. PBS. No, GBH News. Whoops. Sorry. Okay. If you're going on the cruise, by yourself. On the cruise? On the cruise? Marriage is what wings are together. You what this show is to me. What is it, Jim? A dweem within a dweem. It really is. I mean, it's just so great. A dweem. Within a dweens. It's blessed.

Is that it? That was not fair. Let's hear from Marjorie Egan being a fabulous sport. Well, you know, you're going to be who you are. You're going to be who you are. Thanks for listening to the BPR Talks podcast. Our crew is Zoe Matthews, Hannah Loss, Ariana Gonzalez. John Parker is our engineer. Jane Bologna is our executive producer. This episode is produced by Ariana Gonzalez. As always, if you're missing the full BPR experience, you can get the full show on this same. podcast feed. And listen to us live 897 every Monday through Friday for 11 to 1 and watch us on the YouTube.com slash GBH News Station. BPR's reduction of GBH News News.