Vagabond Vol.4 - Mostly 9's
I’m not sure just how exactly people fall into their hobbies, but if most folk are anything like Kevin and I, it’s a sort of rabbit whole where every inch dug becomes better than the last. When you finally peek your head up, to grab some fresh air and get your bearings, that’s when you realize just how deep you’ve gone. That’s how it was with mountains, and that’s how it was with the lanes as well.
Now, that is the perspective that comes with hindsight, so perhaps it unfolded in some other manner; the point is that, for the most part, it felt very casual and transformed fairly quickly. Friday nights on party lanes became a casual no-tap became weekly handicap competitive, in what seemed like the blink of an eye. The conditions could not have been better for a high-dive into this particular pit.
The name of the game was 3-Man Handicap and the team name was Mostly 9’s, but we aren’t quite there yet. I was still in school, Kevin was working diligently while Kathleen was still away in Buffalo. We both, arguably, had too much free time. I lived in Henrietta, Kevin lived in the City. Weekends at Blu were always a lot of fun, but we both had a taste for something a little more engaging.
It started with semi-regular midnight bowling games at the Fairview Lanes in Fairport. We got pretty good pretty quick, ol’ Gabe and Holden sweeping the lanes. If you bring your own shoes it’s a few bucks cheeper. If you have your own ball you’ll become more consistent. We got our own shoes, and our own balls. Unnecessary? Sure, but every inch of dirt felt better than the last, why stop now?
Next stop was 9 Pin No Tap at Bowl-A-Roll. We were pretty good here too. The booze were flowing, the balls were rolling; it was a wild ride. We only did a season or two of No Tap before we had moved on to the real deal. A fella named Jim, an acquaintance we had once met at the Fairport lanes, just so happened to be looking for exhibition partners. From that moment on, the team had been formed.
Now in a competitive environment, where most of everyone was very good, our pretty good was no longer very good. We occasionally gave folks a run for their money, but for the most part we were on the short end of the roster. My 190 average was really nothing to brag about , and the occasional 250’s from Kevin and I weren’t really enough to pull us from the jaws of defeat. We won’t comment on Jimmy’s performance, but he was having fun all the same. Kid was throwing 20MPH balls like it was nothing.
We had a pretty solid two year streak, but this, like all things, eventually came to an end. A combination of location, timing and environment eventually resulted in our departure from the league. As much as I enjoyed bowling, midnight on a weeknight was never really something I was so thrilled about, it eventually wore on us all.
These days don’t see much time at the lanes, after all, who could say no to the mountains when they call? But… every now and then.. you can probably catch us at the Fairport Lanes, dusting off the old shoes.