Sunday, July 1, 2007

It's Been 10+ Years, But It Was Fun

It's probably been at least 10 years since I've gone bowling.

I met up with my son and daughter in law last night. We had dinner and went to the local bowling alley and rolled 4 games. We were fortunate that they had passes that paid for all the games. (Diana is visiting family near Atlanta this weekend.) I guess my FPU class did have some impact with them!

I've never been a good bowler. Matter of fact, athletic pursuits just aren't don't play to my natural abilities. I can't think of a single sport that I've ever been able to master. Golf? I play Star Trek golf. I go where no mans gone before. Baseball? I'm ok at slow pitch, but anything with any speed is nothing but a blur. And I've never quite understood the rules for advancing bases when I'm not the batter. Really doesn't matter, I'm also a slow mover. Basketball? Let' s not go there. After so many years of trying to be good, I just sort of gave up and avoided having to participate in sporting events.

I even tried to learn to square dance a few years ago, figuring I could learn something like that and transpose it to other body movement, but I just exasperated the teachers. I could imagine me on Dancing with the Stars. Tucker Carlson would be considered graceful compared to me.

But I got something of a surprise last night as the evening progressed. My game improved.

I have terrible form. My friends joked in years past that I bowled like I have polio. And it's true. But after a poor first game of 66, I found something, that despite my form, worked for me. The second game I rolled a 112. The third game was a 120 something. And my last game I rolled a 141. I was even beginning to replicate moves. For me, that was a major accomplishment. And if I recall, 141 is a personal high game for me. If it isn't, it's darn close.

It sort of renewed my confidence. Maybe there is hope for me. I'll never be on ABC's Wide World of Sports (do they still have the bowling tournaments?) but for once I had fun doing something athletic.

No comments: