Next to Normal Bowling Team
l-r Don (retired), Brian, youngest
member, Joe Rad. (Boo), Bob G.,
Tom, President

Today four of us on our Next to Normal Bowling team had a 3 game practice session. The team was formed last year when a local food pantry was having a bowling competition as a fundraiser. The name Next to Normal comes from a rock musical. It’s a story about a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. When the mother finally gets treatment she apologized to her daughter for all her past behavior and says she is getting better but will probably never be normal. The daughter responds saying: “I will be happy with Next to Normal.

Four members of our team consider themselves Next to Normal. A fifth person joined our team for our first practice session, after the tournament, but he was too normal and retired after one session. Today was only the third time the four of us went bowling. One of our members, who goes by the nickname Boo, had been struggling with me for last place in the game scores. Today he had his best day yet; he was on a roll and had high score in two of our three games. He was so excited he tried to purchase the house bowling bowl he was using, kids size. The manager did not know what to say since he was the first person in history of the bowling alley ever to ask to purchase a house bowling ball.

One of our top two players from previous games had a bad day with gutter bowl after gutter bowl. He was the only one of us to bring his own ball and it was heavy. After he abandoned it and used one of the lighter house balls his game improved.

I was clearly in the lead in the second game with a few strikes and spares. But in the 10th frame my game fell apart and our consistent second place bowler took the lead for good.

It was birthday party time at the bowling lanes so we fit right in with the children bowling around us. However, the children used bumper guards preventing the ball from going into the gutter and we, adults 50 to 70 years old, did not.

Our big bowler of the day was kind of loud today, cheering us on and making loud noises when his main opponent was about to throw the ball. As secretary of the team I threatened to fine him 10 points every time he yelled when his opponent was bowling. But I did not do it, partially because none of us knew how to work the bowling scoring machine and partially because he fit right in with the kids all around us.

The birthday kids’ names were announcement over the loudspeaker for all to cheer. We had our youngest member name, who is turning 50 this week, announced. We cheered for him, probably just as loud as the five year old received.

One of our members, the guy with his own bowl, took the game seriously when he was doing lousy. He was going to stop bowling but with a lighter bowl, weight the kids and the rest of us where using, lighten up and kept on bowling.

The highest score of the four us was our top bowler of the day, Boo, with a game 150 plus. In the three games only a few persons even got over 100. But so what? Bowling without bumper guides is a real man’s (or woman’s) sport. When you are on a Next to Normal Bowling team it is even more fun.

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