The Price Of Bowling

It is one of my common aphorisms; "There is a price for everything, and everything has its price." This has never been intended as a economic observation, nor a cynical view of life. It's a observation which sits right up there with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", although that is an aphorism I cannot support, especially beyond the narrow construct of mechanical things. No, my aphorism is much closer to life's realities.

The price of a long walk is, or can be, sore legs. The price of sky-jumping is, or can be, those moments of terror. The price of bowling, at least for me, is completely dead shoulder muscles the following day. This is a price I will happily pay, again and again, for as long as I can. I went bowling yesterday, something I had grave doubts about, especially when it came to picking up and tossing a bowling ball about, never mind my poor skill even prior to ALS.

David, his friend Tracey, and I all went to "Let's Bowl" here in Calgary. First of all, this place is terrific, fully accessible for people in wheelchairs to enjoy bowling, a bar, a snack, and a terrific time with friends. The front doors, although a bit of a tight fit, are push-button operated. The internal floor is covered in that low knap industrial carpet, passable for manual wheelchairs and completely indifferent to a power chair. There are ramps up from the floor to the bowling lanes. It all worked for me, except I did not check out the washrooms.

But perhaps the greatest touch, the most useful invention of all, is the bowling ball ramps for people with limited arm strength or movement. In other words, me. This ramp is fascination, rather like a minature ski jump, only the bottom doesn't launch the ball upwards into the air, but on the flat and down the lane. The user aims the ramp. Someone places the bowling ball at the top. The user nudges the ball past the launch zone wherein it takes off down the ramp, then down the lane.

Now, you might think "how easy is this". Let me assure you, it is not as simple as point and shoot. There's a lot of physics involved, ranging from how you launch the ball to micro-adjustments in aim. Even the holes on the ball come into play, something you can adjust for using twist, power, and speed when you manually roll the ball. If you push the ball with fingers off center, it imparts a slight warp in the roll down the lane. If you have the holes too near the base in the ramp, the holes can be heard thumping their way down the lane, imparting directional change as they go.

I've suggested to David that we do a bowling Meet-Up where everyone has to use the ramp. Arranging this is the price David has to pay for letting me have this kind of fun. It was such a wonderful thing, to feel near normal again. I even won a line! Now all I have to do is take a day or two and let my shoulders recover.