Bowling for Cameron
In 1974 when I turned 18 years old I joined the Oceanport Hook & Ladder Fire Company. It was a great experience and I made a lot of good friends. In addition to putting out fires, the fire company offered many social activities for its members. One of those activities was a Fireman’s bowling league. As a new OPH&L member I was a good conscript for the bowling team. The only problem was I had never in my life picked up a bowling ball.
One of those good fireman friends was Kevin Higgins. Kevin’s father was a retired Colonel in the Army and Oceanport had an Army base right next to it named Fort Monmouth. Since Kevin was the son of an officer he had open access to the Fort communicated by the type of sticker on the bumper of his V0lkswagon bug. I always thought it was funny when we drove through the gates, a couple of long haired kids in a VW, the MP’s would stand at attention and salute us.
One day, Kevin and another friend, Joe Centanni, decided they were going to take me bowling, so with Kevin’s access to the base, we went to the bowling alley on Fort Monmouth. We got the shoes, got some refreshments, found the lane and I got ready to begin my bowling career.
After a couple of pointers from my friends I picked up a nice 16 pound bowling ball, all 120 pounds of me, and stood up in the lane for my first bowling experience.
I studied the pins intensely as I went through the motions in my head that would be my bowling form. I imagined carefully placing the ball squarely down the center of the lane and knocking down all the pins for a strike. With my friends encouraging me, I focused on the pins as I took those first couple of real steps. As the choreography unfolded, my arm position slowly changed from holding the ball in front of me to moving the ball down and past my hip as I attempted to create the back swing that would generate the force and speed I would need to get the ball down the lane to knock down all the pins.
The only problem was, when I hit the peak of my back swing I launched the bowling ball not at the pins but at my friends. I turned in horror and embarrassment as I watched people scattering everywhere as that 16 pound cannonball came crashing at them.
I thought for sure at that point my bowling adventure would be over. But after everyone composed themselves, got settled down, and everyone in the place stopped laughing, my friends encouraged me to try again. This time I not only managed to throw the ball in the right direction, but I knocked down all the pins for a strike. Though technically not a strike, since my first ball went into the crowd, I felt good about it.
As a result of my newly acquired pastime, I became an official member of the Oceanport Hook & Ladder Fire Company bowling team in the Fireman’s League. Soon after that I even got my own bowling ball with my initials on it and a bowling bag to carry it in.
This past weekend I went bowling again. I don’t remember the last time I had bowled since other than a class in college, my bowling league days ended in New Jersey. My grandson Cameron loves to go bowling so on this day he wanted to take his Pop Pop and his Mimi bowling. Since I remembered seeing my bowling bag somewhere in the basement, I hustled down and looked around until I found it. I had to use a vacuum cleaner to remove the heavy layer of dust that had engulfed my circa 1974 bowling bag. After a final clean up with a Clorox wipe I was ready. I proudly walked out to the car where the family was waiting for me, with my 42 year bowling bag carrying my 42 year old bowling ball with my initials on it. My wife was very impressed.
And, by the end of the afternoon, my daughter was also very impressed that there was actually a sport that I could be considered competitive in. Not that a score of 149 would necessarily be considered competitive, today at least, I was able to beat my five year old grandson and my wife. On this day, as far as they were concerned, I was Earl Anthony.
Of course, having the bumpers up didn’t hurt either.
So today I remember my first bowling experience thanks to my friends Kevin and Joe as I look forward to a new bowling chapter in my life, this time with my grandson Cameron.
Happy Bowling!