STRIKE for Betty Lou!

I will admit something right now before my stories go any further... I am not a bowler and I probably bowl once a year...if that. I know. I know. The bowling alley for many young teens is like the mall. You go there to show your agility at arcade games, to wear hip clothing combinations, and to pick up chicks when they are not yet biker babes but a little bit past Tomboys. Well, I was not a normal kid. I did not bowl.
But I do now.

You see, the Bayside Bowl is a little establishment recently opened by my cousin Charlie. It used to be an arcade manufacturing warehouse...or something like that, and now he has turned it into part bowling alley, part bar and and night club. And it has figured prominently in my time in Maine.
In fact, it was the first place I came to upon my arrival. I was dropped off by a taxi on a nearby street and carried my 70 lbs of luggage around until I came upon the place.
A week and a half later it had its soft opening, which I attended, the last two days I went there to enjoy an afternoon with cousins young and old (BTW, do not take 2 year olds to a bowling alley. Any relaxation that might after been enjoyed otherwise is automatically compromised.)
And best of all, Bayside Bowl was the location of my Aunt Libby's election night celebration. Drinks and bowling and good old american democracy. Not a bad combo.

Now for the good part. The most important part of this place in my Maine experience beyond spending time with family and friends and celebrating political victories: how I've bowled.
Well, let me tell you what...It's been good. So I actually bowled two gutter balls on my first two bowls ever and had another gutter on the subsequent frame. Not an auspicious beginning. However, I quickly picked up the groove, analyzed the styles of more successful bowlers, and I have bowled at least 150 during every outing there.
This here is Emily and Lew-Dog. Lew was actually the second person I saw in Maine after my brief "hello" to my cousin Charlie. Lew is like Aragorn to Charlie's Gandolf. They have been putting in 15 hour days after these first 10 days, and I think that it's Lewis' Southern heritage (he's from Kentucky) that gives the place the charm it needs to thrive.







Emily is seen here posing (she seems to be an unpaid model in my blog. Maybe once I get some advertising then she'll be recompensed.) in her unique squat routine which precedes her bowls. [side note: she did successfully pick up the spare in this frame] "Bubbles," which is her bowling name, bowls a consistent 120-130.







So here it is. My most recent game. You don't see any "C" up there because most people have their own bowling names. For instance, I played with "filthy McNasty" the other day. I don't know his real name so I refer to him by his bowling name, though I call him "filthy" for short. Bill is "Barry"; Emily is "Bubbles" the little cousins are "Fashion Diva" and "Moe" and my cousin Will is "The Dude."
You'll find my score, the winning tally, under the name B.L. I rolled strikes or spares in every frame but one and barely eked out a victory against talented Barry. My name was actually given to me by the person at the shoe counter. I said to be original and so she thought Southern and quirky...Please feel free to refer to me by my bowling moniker Betty Lou.