The Two Bounce Rule

The Two Bounce Rule reveals life in Fig Paradise, an over-60 gated community filled with unique characters who swim, play golf, pickleball, bocce, have happy hours, and keep an eye out for each other. There are few secrets in Fig Paradise. Prepare to meet Malachi Moon, Dame Duffy, Donny Ciccone, Anthony Burrow, Dimi Dujour, Earl Mandalay, among others.

This is a story of people in a place. The place is Fig Paradise, an over-60, gated community in Mapplethorpe Valley, California. It lies within the town of Hot Stone and consists of one hundred homes and half that number of condominiums. There are community pools, tennis, pickleball, and bocce courts, a dog run, and a fitness center. There is a restaurant exclusive to the community and its guests, and a pro-shop for the golf crowd. Fig Paradise got its name from fruit orchards previously on the property. It is said the land was once owned by Amelia Earhart years before her fateful flight. Located in the Sonoran Desert, the community enjoys eight months a year of fine weather. Then summer brings temperatures well over one hundred degrees. Snowbirds depart for cooler clime. Year-rounders, the desert dwellers, remain. The folks who reside in Fig Paradise are a mixed bunch of appearance, temperament, belief, and persuasion. In short, they are like people everywhere, except they are old.

Matt Cutugno was born in New Jersey, and educated at Penn State and Florida State Universities, earning an MFA in Theater. He resided over 30 years in Manhattan and Brooklyn, working for banks and law firms. His plays were produced in New York, Los Angeles, and regionally. He is the author of the Western series, The Tarnished Star, which chronicles fifty years of American History. He is also the author of The Dracula Legend, a true story of the "real" Dracula, and the Amazon best-selling non-fiction novel, The Winter Barbeque. He currently lives in California, where he writes, teaches in the local school system, and plays pickleball.