In April my blogging efforts are almost entirely spent on the A to Z challenge. This doesn't mean I don't have other content that I am pursuing. I just don't usually have the time, inclination or energy to get into it. On one of the last Friday's in March Amy, myself and the girls went bowling. I wrote a draft of this the next day but all thing A to Z kept me from completing it until now.
About 25 to 30 years ago I decided I would try to bowl in every state. When Amy and I got married, she embraced that and quite often when we were in a new state for the first time we woud bowl I'm not an especially good bowler, even though it used to be one of my favorite things to do . I used to bowl somewhere between 80 and 120 a game. If I broke 100 I'd consider it a good game. Over the last 10 years, 100 has become more of a rarity. I have my own ball, but lately when we have bowled it's been at the spur of the moment, and I have not brought my ball. My ball is probably a little too heavy for me now, but when I found out we were going bowling I decided to bring it.
I did not start well. I ended getting1 pin down in the first frame. two more in the second frame and then 2 straight gutter balls in the third frame.
At this same point all of my family members were bowling better than me, and my wife was suggesting that I switch to a lighter ball. I decided that better or worse I would stick with my ball. I knew though, that something needed to be done and on the next frame I decided to go with the Fred Flintstone approach.
I generally do this novelty move once each time I bowl and always have fun with it and also a bit of success. I have bowled many a strike with the "twinkletoes" approach. However, this was not the case on this occasion. I guttered to the left, mustered what was left of my pride and attempted the maneuver again only to gutter to the right.
3 pins in 4 frames, quite the auspicious start, So, when in the 5th frame when I got 7 pins down on the first roll it more than doubled my previous score even though I guttered the 2nd ball.
. In the 6th frame, faced with the prospect of my lowest score ever, things began to get a little better. I changed my approach and instead of bowling in stride I stopped at the line and then sent the ball down the lane. I got a strike and followed that up with a spare in the 7th or 8th. I knocked down pins in all of my first rolls during the 2nd half of the game. As I started the 10th frame. I had gained 59 points since the Flintstone debacle in the 4th frame, I was the last to bowl in our party and I had already caught up with my daughters and was just a few pins behind Amy. (Nobody was especially bowling well, but we were all enjoying our selves)
I was able to get a spare in the 10th frame and followed it up with a strike to end the game. It was a definite tale of two halves. I had a score of 10 entering the 6th frame and bowled 72 (88% of my total score) in the latter half to finish with a normally measly 82. But as I said in the title it was the best 82 I ever bowled.
I'm glad I got the ball rolling on post A to Z blogging. I may still have a little more A to Z aftermath in the near future, but it's good to be back to abnormal.
