The night was young when the one and only Cole Zingas gave a groundbreaking suggestion: “Let’s go bowling.” Bowling! I hadn’t been bowling in a really long time, and I could never say no to Cole Zingas. So, I told him yes and started mentally preparing. At that moment, I was playing Super Smash Bros 4 with some other gentlemen. As usual, I was getting stomped on by everyone else. A good way to redeem myself and my self confidence, I thought, would be to show everyone my bowling skills. Unfortunately, this idea wasn’t super popular with the entire cohort, but we still managed to get another person in the bowling group: Nick Maternowski. Just three boys, all you really need, though! The destination was the Garden Bowl on Woodward, not too far. Nothing but a 8 minute bike ride. We strolled down the hall with our bikes, went down the large freight elevator, and took off. The next string of events would change everything.
As soon as we arrived, we locked up the bikes and went inside. Essentially, we had the entire place to ourselves. How strange, I thought. I had been there before for concerts—the Majestic is located upstairs—and the bowling alley was always hopping. Maybe they knew we were coming—HAH! We marched up to the bar and asked for an hour of bowling and shoes. We all wear size 11; this realization brought us together even more. Cole Zingas also asked if he could spin the wheel for a prize and the worker shut him down. He was really disappointed. I tried to cheer him up, but nothing seemed to work out.
We tied our shoes and programmed the game. Then, Nick made a joke I didn’t understand. Frankly, I was more embarrassed than he was because I wanted to feel apart of the joke. He’s got a real sense of wit, so a less intelligent mind like myself didn’t pick up on it. First Cole Zingas not getting to spin the wheel, now me not getting Nick’s joke: we were doomed! Our goal was to bowl a combined 300. No, I don’t mean each one of us bowl a perfect game; I mean each one of our scores adding up to 300.
Cole Zingas started off on fire, getting a spare. Nick and I weren’t as stellar, and I believe we both failed to hit a pin for a round and a half. Basically, Cole Zingas was the only reason we even were making any progress toward 300. Every time Nick bowled and We finished one game and failed to get even close to 300. The second game, however, we were much more successful. At the tenth round, all eyes were on me. We were at 290, and I had three attempts to get to 300. First attempt: gutter ball. Second attempt: gutter ball. I had to get a strike here. Third attempt: 9 pins down. We finished at 299, and I let my team down. How was it even possible that I failed at such an easy task?
From this experience, I learned a lot about the game of bowling. Like tennis or golf, it is a mental sport. Sure, knowing how to bowl is helpful, but having the right mentality is most important. I lost all confidence going into that tenth round; I can’t pinpoint what it was from. Cole Zingas eventually did (unofficially) spin the wheel. He was thrilled! It had been years since I witnessed so much joy from someone. I have had many positive experiences outside of Fresh Corner Cafe and the Green Garage, but this one stuck out to me. The morning of that day, if someone told me what was going to happen in the evening, I would have laughed. Life is funny how unpredictable it can be.
Very engaging story!