Hey, Look! 191!

Photo composite. Ray's first shot was fuzzy, so I added the second one to show the score.

Yes, we went bowling again. A group of us from CPC go once a month to Kennedy Bowl to partake in some fun and friendly competition. They have a Sunday special which used to be $2.00 a game. But they switched it recently to $25 per hour for two lanes.

If we speed bowl we can bring it in under $2.00 a game. Though, quite often, the lanes act up (balls not being returned) and we have to wait for the guys who work there to fix them. Then it ends up being a bit more.

I came by an hour late after visiting the boarding home. The guys were just finishing up their first game. I was the eighth guy to join. They slotted me in after Ed in group 1.

My first game was decent. I bowled a 143 which is on or around my average. I managed to eke out a win over Ray who came in with a 139. He got a spare on his second last ball. But, on his last ball, disappointingly hit only one pin.

I made it closer than it should have been. On my second last frame I could have put it out of reach if I hit my last pin for a spare. But I managed to spare my last frame and hit enough pins on my final ball to pull ahead of him in the end.

My second game was much better overall. It started strong with a strike and a spare. But then I hit a long lull with three open frames. The ending was quite good though. My last five frames were strike, strike, strike, spare, followed by two strikes and a 7 in the tenth for 191. 200 is within reach!

Yes, 186

We had another outing this past Sunday at Kennedy Bowl with the church group. We've started going there semi-regularly because they have a great deal on Sundays after 4:00 for $2.00 a game.

Unfortunately it seems to be quite popular. Sid tried to book a couple of lanes for 4:00, but was told the earliest we could get was for 5:30. It wasn't a big deal for me. I was coming from my boarding home visit.

To kill a bit of time beforehand I had my hair cut at the $6.00 place at Victoria Park and Lawrence.

The time wasn't so convenient for some of the others. It pushed into dinnertime so they weren't able to come. In the end it was just me, Sid, Willy, Steve Chong and Ed.

Ed and Steve joined the black bowling shoe club each buying a pair from Rodney's Pro Shop before the game. Now six of us (Ray, Sid, Willy, Steve, Ed and I) have the same pair of bowling shoes.

Steve came a bit late because he had to take his son to his hockey lessons I believe. The rest of us started first.

I found the same ugly, green 14 pound bowling ball that Willy and I used last time. I like the spacing between the thumb and fingers. Ed found a slightly lighter ball which he and Willy shared.

It was nice bowling two people per lane. The game went much faster. You could stay in rhythm much more easily.

Steve joined us after we all finished our first game. To catch up he bowled on both lanes.

I did quite well in my second game scoring a total of 161. That's my highest score since we started a few months ago.

On our next game Willy bowled a stellar 166 to beat my previous high. The pressure was on.

Normally we only bowl three games. But we decided to go once more. That's when I really got into a groove. In my first four frames I scored a spare, strike, strike, spare before bowling a clunker of 7 and 2.

I got back on my horse and bowled another strike, spare, strike, before the wheels fell off again and I bowled a 5 and 2.

Luckily I finished off with two strikes and a 7 for 186. Not too bad. I think I was fairly consistent throughout the evening bowling in the 120s, 130s, 161 and 186.

I sure hope I can keep it up.

Kennedy Bowl

Our church group tried a new bowling alley this past Sunday, Kennedy Bowl. It's located in the mall on the northwest corner of Lawrence Avenue East and Kennedy Road. The previous four or five times we had gone to Club 300 on Old Kennedy Road, north of Steeles.

Sid discovered this place while shopping for bowling shoes and a ball. When Willy and I went to buy shoes there we noticed a sign promoting $2.00 games (tax included) on Sunday afternoons after 4:30 p.m.. This was a lot cheaper than the $39.00 per 1-1/2 hours at Club 300.

Kam and Ray and his son, Steven came this time. As well, Willy drove Glenda and I. Sid came on his own. Hilkka was supposed to come, but we didn't see her. Ray bought $60 (plus tax) shoes. So now four of us have the exact same shoes.

The new alley is fine. It's not as big and open as Club 300. Instead of 50-60 lanes there are only 32. I don't think there are as many balls to choose from either. But, since we're not rushing to get as many games in in 1-1/2 hours we take our time and wait for our chosen balls to return after each shot.

As well, the automatic scoreboard wasn't always accurate. On a number of occasions people got spares, but the computer didn't register it. So we had to manually correct the error. Oh well. After awhile we were pretty adept at making the change. For only $2.00 a game it was something we were willing to deal with.

Even though we've gone a few times already no one is anywhere near consistent. Sometimes we might get a few spares or a couple of strikes in a row only to toss the ball into the gutter or only knock 2 or 3 pins down the next couple of shots. Not sure why. I guess we just need more practice. It'll come.