Slippin’ and slidin’

Marty’s 40^th birthday was right around the corner. His oldest and gold-est friends were anxious to take him out. They wanted to go cosmic bowling.

February 7^th finally rolled around. Marty made sure to grab his socks. He hated paying for them at the alley.

A grand total of eight guys – some single, some married, and some married with kids – gathered at Fire Lane Bowl to kick back and have a memorable night.

And they sure did.

At first the guys were warming up. Scores were all over the board. After a few games, four of Marty’s friends were on a roll and beating everybody with streaks of strikes and spares.

Marty was not usually a competitive individual, but since it was his birthday, he had a mild desire to win. The more he thought about it, the more his adrenaline started rushing.

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” came on, and that only pumped him up even more. The lights were out, disco balls and colors were swirling around the room, laser lights were flashing, and even the bowling pins were glowing in the dark. He was ready to make his move.

His turn came. He thought since he’s been getting lots of gutters, he should get closer to the line before he rolls.

“Heck, why don’t I just go a little past the line for better aim,” he thought.

Marty got a good start, swung his right hand and ball back, and made a run into the lane. As soon as he passed the line, he went flying down the bowling lane – bottom down. His ball bounced into another lane (ultimately scoring a spare), and he landed about five feet away from the bowling pins.

Fire Lane Bowl’s cosmic night paused.

The disco balls, lights, glow in the dark pins and even Michael Jackson turned off. The regular lights went on. Everybody at Fire Lane Bowl, including a huge party of sweet sixteen-ers, stopped and stared at Marty.

The manager went running down to help Marty up. Marty was still in shock and couldn’t figure out what happened.

“Hey man, what the heck happened,” asked Fire Lane Bowl’s Manager, Bob.

“I dunno man, I just slipped,” Marty responded.

His friends tried hard to hold in their laughter. They obviously couldn’t.

Bob explained to Marty that bowling lanes are always oiled.

 

Shannon Powell, General Manager at Dart Bowl in Austin, Texas

Shannon, who has 16 years of experience managing bowling alleys, said Dart Bowl has at least one person who slips down the bowling alley each month – despite signs everywhere and people accepting bowling conditions prior to starting.

Shannon said Dart Bowl oils their lanes twice daily – once in the morning and once in the evening.

“Oiling the lanes helps protect the lanes and the ball,” she said. “The ball going down at such a high speed causes friction, and the oil helps the balls get down there more easily.”

Unlike many bowling alleys, Dart Bowl is strict about bowlers crossing the line.

“If you go over the foul line, you lose your turn,” she said. “We let everybody know not to cross the foul line because the lane conditioner (oil) on the other side.

“It’s just for their safety,” Shannon said. “Just read the warning signs, and if you have problems, always contact the front desk.”

 

Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this short story, excluding interviews, are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.