Let's go BOWLING!

[billhammond]

Marty and MFever are going bowling tonight as part of the Podium holiday party. I don't think I have ever topped 100 in the few dozen times I have bowled, but it's always been kinda fun.

Who likes to bowl? Tell us some stories.

[Deleted]

I used to be on a league many years ago. My best night was when I got 5 strikes in a row and scored 186! (that was a miracle though and has never happened again)

Be careful not to break your nails!

[billhammond]

This illustration explains the chairs on "Star Trek."

[Deleted]

You did ask for bowling stories. We used to buy everyone on the team a drink. That meant by the time everyone each bought a round, that makes quite a few drinks. One night I had one too many and I threw the ball in the lane next to mine! Gutterball on top of it all.

I think that was the night I went home with my bowling shoes on and forgot my own shoes at the bowling alley.

It may have been the same night I somehow ended up eating dinner with a guy I just met and we both walked out without paying. (both of us thinking the other had paid) He showed up at my house the next night to pick me up for an event I didn't remember agreeing to go to. Nor did I recall his name. Hm. Not a good thing.

But that was many, many years ago!!!

[roylundelius]

Check this out Bill.

www.royalpin.com/trivia.htm

[Deleted]

Once, many years ago, a colleague of mine and I were driving back from a meeting somewhere in the endless suburbs of Los Angeles that I don't remember. We were stressed and exhausted. As we drove past the endless strip malls, we saw a bowling alley. "Hey Brian, let's have a few drinks and go bowling," my colleague said. Since it sounded better than hanging out at the bar back at the Holiday Inn, I naturally said sure.

Neither of us had bowled in years. We were dressed in grey suits. But what the hell. When we went inside we discovered that it was league night and the place was full of people with custom balls, team uniforms, the whole 9 yards. Fortunately, there was one lane left and we took it.

Let's just say that we had a few drinks and proceeded to bowl the lights out. Total beginners' luck. Well, maybe not beginners luck, but damn near it. Neither of us scored below 150 in the 4 or 5 games we played and I even managed to crack 200. Never before. Never since. But what a night.

Needless to say, we drew a lot of attention. We were just a couple of suits using the off the rack balls. None of them believed us when we said we hadn't bowled in years.

I don't think I could bowl that way again if I went out every night for a year.

[Deleted]

Our real agenda is to hit Famous Dave's first for a little Bar-B-Q and then meet up with the rest of the Podium folks for bowling.

[roylundelius]

So that is what sparked Bills interest in bowling all of a sudden.

[billhammond]

Here is a bowling story, sort of, but I wish I had the artwork to go with it.

When I worked at the Milwaukee Sentinel in the late '70s, the city was a finalist to be the location for the National Bowling Hall of Fame. As you might imagine, with all the German and Polish immigrants in the population and a lot of blue-collar jobs (breweries, steel, etc.), bowling was very popular there.

Well, for whatever reason, the nod went to Toledo, Ohio, instead. And although I'm sure there were Milwaukeeans who were disappointed, this was not really cataclysmic news.

That, however, did not deter our editorial cartoonist, a guy by the name of Thomas Curtis, from creating a cartoon to reflect his view of the horrible pain inflicted on the community by being passed over for this prestigious museum.

His cartoon, done as usual in his peculiar, almost woodcut-ancient style, depicted the Milwaukee downtown skyline in stark silhouette, with one of the buildings being a huge bowling ball ...

... with a giant salty tear coming down the curvature of the ball.

[kariseal]

I think bowling is one of those things people used to do alot in the "old" days - before electronic entertainment. When our family goes bowling the kids are over the top- MOM THIS IS SO FUN! I think it is somewhat a forgotten sport. My mom bowled on leagues when we were growing up and started us out learning at the bowling alley with the local pro, so we were taught the right way to bowl. I remember 4th grade leagues when I had this huge crush on a boy, and he was a good bowler. At the end of the league they were giving away trophies and I wasn't really paying attention and they called me up for best game or whatever and I blurted out, "But Dave had a better game than me, why I am getting this?" or something like that and they announced loudly that this was a GIRLS best game. For some reason it was one of the most embarrasing moments I can remember! Flash forward to early on dating my husband, his buddies arrange a night out at the bowling alley. We start bowling.....hadn't told him yet that I went to state with the bowling team in high school. I beat them all! One of my hidden talents

[Deleted]

He just wants to rub in the fact that the younger members of the Podium staff voted not to have a wonderful meal at Cafe 421 and to do something fun instead. Good thing DaWife likes to bowl, in fact she will give them young whipper snappers a run for their money. Meanwhile, Jeff, Kevin and myself will sit back and have a beer or 3.

[dradtke]

In my first career of technical theater, when a show closed we would stay after the final performance and strike the set, starting around 11:00 and finishing up at 4 or 5 in the morning. Somehow, we got into the habit of going to a 24-hour bowling alley when we finished. Then we'd write the scores on the wall in the shop.

I usually bowled in the 140-160 range. But if I went during the day, I could never break 100.

[epaul]

I once entertained the possibility of being a professional bowler.

Then I decided I would rather fly rocket ships. Or maybe be the captain of a big ship.

I was six. The world was my oyster.

[gbacklin]

I started bowling when I was 4. It didn't hurt that the alley was a block away from my house. My mom, dad, grandfather, aunts, uncles all bowled. My father is 78, and informed me that he will have to cut back next year where he was bowling 3 leagues a week and secretary for all 3 and carrying a 180+ average. My mom after bowling in leagues for all those years with him, never got a 200, the highest was a 199; several times, that really ticked her off

I bowled leagues for about 15 years and when I got married, my wife and in-laws bowled mixed leagues for about 5 years.

I stopped bowling leagues in 91, and have gone about 10 times since then usually to bowl in father/daughter or father/son events, but that is about it.

It is a fun sport, however it is not as popular as it was in the past.

[Supertramp78]

I actually took bowling as one of my PE requirements at college. I also took golf, fencing, badminton, and archery. For the record, the most physically grueling of those was badminton followed by fencing. Anyway, bowling. I never was very good although by the end of the class I was fairly decent. Kelly took the same class later and did not so good but she does like to bowl. In fact at one of her former jobs they had a league where she went quite often. So often I made her buy her own ball and shoes to save everyone the endless chore of waiting for her to find a ball that fit.

Last time I went bowling was a few months ago. ran into my old boss from film production days. He used to be the eternal hippie with hair down his back and now he is bald. I did not know who he was. So this bald guy comes up to me and starts talking ot me about my game and how often do I come here and finally he said, "How long is it going to be before you remeber who the fuck I am?"
"Bob!"
The cursing gave him away. He was from Chicago where bowling is something similar to sex in other states. Everyone does it Long after they should probably stop. I used to give him hell when I worked for him about always going to bowling leagues. Once I told him to just call them "and tell them you are too well to play." He thought that was funny enough to remind me of it a few months ago. Great guy. His daughter plays jazz cornet in an all girl jazz big band.

[theevan]

The "posse" arrives at the classy establishment du bowling

[theevan]

Some hot babes showing 'leg' showed up for the fete.

[theevan]

Banjo Anne provided the entertainment.

[Marshall]

As chance woiuld have it; The racquet-ball group I play in is switching bars for the afterwards re-hydrate and soak-up-the-suds post game festivities to: Beverly Lanes of all places.

Seems that Eddies (our bar of choice for the last 7 or 8 years) just fired Jo, our fav bartendress. Jo has been around for a long time. Once we came to her rescue when a loud drunk started cussing at her. She threw the guy out and he got pisssed and beligerent. The RB boys jumped up and came across the room. One of our boys with more experience with belligerants shoved himbefore he could get a swing in and he fell and hit the floor hard. Took most of the fight out of him. She always treated us well, even before that incident. We generally pitch in and tip her $100 or so at each Christmas (on top of our weekly 20% or so). She brought us a free pitcher every night.

Jo also has other gigs. She hosts a monthly Chicago radio program on; motorcycles. She also writes an article in the local paper on bikes. She first went to Sturgess in 1981. I think She's the first woman inducted into the motorcyle-hall-of-fame.

Well anyway, Eddies has new Owner's who, apparently, want to make it more upscale. And I guess Jo told them what she thought of the idea, and was asked to leave.

So we decided any place not good enough for Jo is not good enough for us. So tonight we try the bar at Beverly Lanes for the ceremonial suds-up.

We have contacted Jo after the debacle. She gave another patron a note with her phone number for the the racquetball boys. We'lll take her out to dinner next week and give her a card and a monetary present.

[majorminor]

I've been bowling....once.