Strike! Bowling + Life Parallels: Episode 15
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 15: Mary Ann's Transition is Complete -- from Bowling Misfit to Team Captain.
Not too slouchy.
One week to go before the final competition. In the last practice all-you-can-bowl before the competition, I hit a high score of 172. I was flying now! I bowled 21 games that night and was ready for next week. Our team was set. They elected me team captain. Unfortunately, the IT guy-- who’s good for at least 200 --and his team were going to be bowling next week. Although they usually cleaned up trophy-wise, we remained hopeful nonetheless.
The highest score I had so far achieved was 177, and that was in an all-you-can-bowl practice session. My goal of 200 had still eluded me. My other best scores besides the 177 and the 172 were 174, 168 twice and the 164 the night Rob put the ten-pounder in my hands and I stuck with it. Besides the fun of getting a high score, getting a turkey every now and then is quite fun also. A turkey is when you roll three strikes in a row, watch the score build up then! That was really fun for me because it was an added competition to see how long I could keep it going, how many strikes in a row I could get. I never did get more than the turkey.
Before too long, it would be the last of my bowling, at least for a while as life had begun to get in the way and bowling would soon be crowded out. Soon too the company would be merged and done and our teams would be no more. I was determined to make next week count.
