ChatterLei

One day, back when my husband and I were dating, he asked me what I wanted to do. I don’t know, what do you want to do? I don’t know what do YOU want to do? I DON’T KNOW! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? You know, the never-ending back and forth, that actually ends in laughter.

Anyway, I threw out the idea of going bowling. He said that would be okay, but that he just bowls for fun (insinuating that he is not very good at bowling). Well, I said I bowled for fun, too, and that I was not very good at it. But, I liked the challenge of it.

We walked through the doors of the bowling alley where we were immediately hit with the strong smell of smoke and fried food. The air was cloudy and the room was dark. We made our way to the front desk, paid our money for the privilege of wearing those lovely used shoes that were either too big or too small. And for the price of admission, we could roll a shiny hard rubber or polyurethane round weight down the alley, aimed just right, hoping it rolled and turned hard enough to knock all of the pins down rather than leaving the dreaded split in the back row.

My date was so sweet to let me go first. My cute 8-lb ball felt smooth in my hand. The finger holes fit so well they made the perfect popping sound when the ball was released from my fingers. Swing back, release…. Gutter ball. Second throw. Much better, three pins! Ugh. Embarrassing. But, he said he wasn’t very good at bowling either.

His turn. He smiled as he sauntered past me, picked up his 16-lb bowling ball like it was nothing, stepped up to the line, stopped, took a breath, pulled the ball up in front of his face to line it up exactly where he wanted it to hit. His arm drops down, swings past his right side, stretches back as far as he could reach, swings forward… feet, legs, arms, and body are in the perfect bowling form as the ball is released, spinning so fast and hard I could barely follow it with my eyes. HIT…EXPLOSION…BOWLING PINS FLYING EVERYWHERE…. STRIKE!!

I recognized that bowling form from the bowling show I watched on television sometimes on Saturdays! He turned with a slightly sheepish grin and innocent eyes.

“So, you just bowl for fun, huh?”

He insisted he is not very good and that he just bowls for fun. I was not much competition for him. But, we did have fun.

Fast forward a few months.

He was moving out of his apartment into a more affordable one. I helped him pack some of his life’s collectibles into boxes. Reaching as far as I could reach to the back of the closet, on the top shelf, was something that resembled a trophy. I pulled it forward and noticed there was a second one.

Not one. But two. Two bowling trophies!! I turned to him with those two trophies in hand and said, “JUST FOR FUN, HUH?!”

He smiled and said, “Yes, I always have fun when I bowl.”