My old bowling ball: A memory-triggering time capsule #TBT
Posted By RichC on June 2, 2022
The “bowling” comment I made a couple weeks ago triggered me thinking about what “junk” to put back in my office storage closet and what to toss. 
There are “functional” but OLD computers (with hard drives and too much CPP customer data), boxes of magazines … and more to the point … my old bowling ball from college. Huh, why am I keeping it?
Back in the late 1970s and early 80s, I was an avid bowler, which was a college extra curricular activity while living in Founders Hall at Ohio Northern University (it costs 50 cents a game to bowl back then). For the most part this was an ONU college league, but I did end up as one of the five members of the team to represent the university against other colleges (yes, blowing my own horn). By today’s standards, having a 170 – 190 average and a top score of only 265 is subpar, but “back in the day” it was enough to be anchor on our team.
So after discussing “what to do” with my old bowling ball with my college buddy Jeff (he was not a bowler or on the team) … we decided it should be buried just west of State Route 235 north of Ada, Ohio. For context, driving on the nasty winter weather day I was scheduled to pick up my newly drilled bowling ball was treacherous … but I really wanted it and didn’t want to delay picking it up. So, when I was returning southbound on State Route 235 and the roadway jogged at the county line … as they often do in rural Ohio … the west-to-east wind had polished the icy-snow roads and my 1974 Capri fishtailed one too many times spinning off the road and ending up a foot from a lone tree (satellite 2022 map view below but now is a much softer “jog” rather than “turns”).
Perhaps Jeff and I will make a pilgrimage to Ada, Ohio to both complain about all the changes to the town and campus like “grumpy old men” … and to bury my bowling ball at the base of this tree? I can feel a ROAD TRIP coming!
Fun side memory: Years ago when Drew was in college (who was Katelyn’s boyfriend at the time) … found out that I had an old pair of bowling shoes; he just had to have them … I assumed to wear? I never really understood the attraction (to the shoes, not my daughter!), but was glad to see my old bowling shoes put to use.
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