Strike! Bowling + Life Parallels: Episode 4
When Mary Ann first embarked on the path to becoming a “respectable” bowler, she dove in with enthusiasm and fortitude. Nothing, and no one would stand in her way. What she did not expect was the complexity of planning, thought and strategy that were part of this sport she previously gave little or no thought to, and if she had, surely would have viewed it as mindless but fun. Also, taking her by surprise were the generosity of the people she met, and the life lessons she learned along the way. Join Mary Ann on her meaningful, and at times extremely funny journey.
Episode 4: Loving My Pink Seven-Pounder Too Much
I have yet to tell you exactly what my scores have been. I am sure some of you at least are curious. Well my trophy-winning score was a 39. I know you are thinking you have to try real hard to score that low, but if you remember how I was actually underhand throwing the ball it will make some sense. My scores started to improve each practice session, but it took awhile before I was able to score above 100 and that day was cause for celebration--I had arrived! But staying at or around 100 consistently was still beyond me.
Oh the ex-pro, his name is Rob, continued to give me pointers and encouragement, but my stubborn nature kept me ignoring most of them. He would tell me when he was on the tour his average was about 270 so he knew what he was talking about and I could really learn something if I just listened to him. I think--no, I know-- I frustrated him the most with my bowling ball selection. I started with a seven pound ball and I felt most comfortable with that and anything heavier, felt, well, heavier and too heavy for bowling 20 games as my arm would surely fall off. Rob constantly told me I had to use a heavier ball. The seven pound ball is for kids. Each of the pins weighs four pounds so I had to use a heavier ball. The seven-pounder just bounces off the pins and doesn’t knock them down. But I loved my pink seven-pounder and I stuck with it, and Rob once again walked away in disgust. He really got angry at me that time and I thought he would never try to help me again. I was wrong about that and about loving my seven-pounder too much to change but those are stories for another day.
Sometimes you have to think outside the box and see what happens. I thought I would see what happened when I tried to bowl left-handed. I am a natural right-hander so this was going to be interesting. Guess what? I actually got a couple of strikes and bowled decently lefty style. Go figure. Next time I'll tell you the story of Rob’s mother-in-law.
