117 - When another person throws a bowling ball down your lane

I have always loved to bowl, and I remember I used to go every week when I was around 8 or 9 with my mom and her boyfriend. Lifting a heavy sphere with just three fingers and throwing it at pins in the hopes of hearing that euphoric sound of a strike (or a turkey) just came natural to me like I had been born to play this sport. (My childhood asthma makes it hard for me to run around too much when playing soccer or basketball. I get shortness of breath really easily.)

I like that bowling alleys are air-conditioned. I don't like that they require you to change your shoes, but I guess the footwear is just for my own safety. I love the feel of a heavy bowling ball: it's smooth, shiny, and the mathematically perfect shape. They can come in any color, too, and as it rolls down an alley (or into a gutter), it creates one of the most beautiful manmade spectacles.

I'd like to say I'm quite good at bowling, but I haven't had any practice for about a year. I remember I used to be good enough to at least get strikes half the time. You'd think my prowess would earn me some respect on the bowling lanes, but no, apparently it's funny to 'steal' each other's turns, to throw multiple bowling balls down the alley simultaneously and challenge the machinery's automaticity, to disrespect the balls, the pins and the game itself, and just fling balls hard into the gutter because it's so damn funny when we sabotage other people's efforts.

It ain't funny to me. I will throw you to the other end of the alley. I know that my getting angry only makes the situation more amusing to the people that don't appreciate the game as much as I do, that it only fuels them with more entertainment. But you know... It's my turn... It's my lane... It's my game... Grr...