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Mourning the Loss of Yet Another Alley

I grew up with a regular bowling alley just down the road. I went and occasionally bowled but I wasn't very good at it.

Then I moved to Boston to go to MIT. The Dining Hall where I worked had a bowling alley in the basement but it wasn't the same bowling! It was candle pins. A small ball. No thumb holes.

Way different.

And, what is more, I was good at it. And I enjoyed the sport.

A lot of us did a lot of bowling as a way to slack out. Beer bowling was a special occasion.

One thing I liked about candle pins is that it evoked a much more informal atmosphere. No special shoes required. Smaller scale. No elaborate scoring pads and equipment. We set up our own pins.

It was a great sport.

I am not sure that you could find the kind of bowling the rest of the country enjoyed around New England. All candle, all the time.

But it is fading now. Its time is passing.

Bowling itself is a lesser sport. I grew up hearing about the likes of Andy Varipapa was the reigning bowling champ. There were bowling shows on teevee! People would watch them breathless with anticipation.

Sure it was slow. Not the roller derby. But a lot of people still watch golf. Not as many. But slow? Golf is very very slow. Bowling is speed of light compared.

So there goes another thing that isn't done any more. Too bad.

I haven't bowled in years. When I was a Dad and a Grandad still back east we would go to the old bowling alley I knew as a kid to pass the time on visits to my parents. My own kids were just there and played a frame or two.

We have bowling here. One alley I think. It has lasers and a light show.

Times change.

Labels: nostalgia