Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The bowling genius of Storm Lake, Iowa
If Barack Obama occupies one end of the bowling-skill continuum, then Dale Davis of Storm Lake, Iowa stands at the other end:
A perfect game. The most difficult achievement a bowler can accomplish.
It’s even more impressive when a blind World War II veteran does it.
That was the scene at Saturday evening’s All-League Playoffs at Century Lanes in Alta. Dale Davis, just three months from his 79th birthday, his sight stolen years ago by macular degeneration, rolled 12 consecutive strikes in front of an enthusiastic and supportive crowd. The effort was the first-ever 300 game at Century.
“It was quite a thrill,” Davis said of the achievement. “When I got to the tenth frame, I said ‘Lord, let me throw three more good balls.’ When I did, people on other teams were yelling and cheering. A few guys were hugging me and almost broke my skinny bones.”
With his neatly combed back hair and 115-pound frame, Davis is proud of the fact he still uses the heaviest ball available, explaining that he and his ball “weigh over 130 pounds together.” ...
In the wake of losing his eyesight, Davis gave up his bowling passion for a few years. Thelma, though, continued to be active in area leagues and eventually talked Davis into picking the sport back up three years ago. Now he plays six games a week, in two leagues.
Thanks to his sister’s support, Davis is back in form with a 188 average to show for it. Fellow bowlers nicknamed him The Hammer for the surprising punch his shots can pack.
“I can’t see the lane or the pins and have a heck of a time finding my ball sometimes,” Davis said with a laugh of his bowling skills. “I can kinda see the dots on the floor to know where I start. After that, I rely on my hearing and other people to tell me what’s going on.”
When he doesn’t throw a strike, fellow bowlers like Century Lanes owner and good friend Clem Ledoux tell Davis what pins are still standing. The blind bowler then finds his bearings with the dots on the lane, approaches and hurls his next shot.
“The Hammer has a great knowledge of bowling,” Ledoux remarked. “It’s hard for some to believe, but he gets more strikes than spares. There are times you think his ball has eyes. It’s almost like the ball sees for him when he bowls. He remembers things so well from when he could see that he just pictures the lane and the pins in his head and uses his imagination.
“There isn’t a bit of luck when it comes to the Hammer’s game. He really is that good."
Isn't America great?
7 Comments:
By 
, at
Wed May 07, 08:18:00 AM:
He's a tenpin wizard, there's got to be a twist
A tenpin wizard's got such a supple wrist.
By 
Christopher Chambers, at
Wed May 07, 10:11:00 AM:
Aw, but can this guy ball like Barack? Doubtfull. Barack is wiry and skinny yet overwhelmed all comers at the downtown Chicago Y's afterwork basketball league. So what advice can "Clem Ledoux" (neither Twain nor Mencken could have come up with a more hayseed name than that) give Barack in upping his bowling prowess? Quit the race, enrich the Chinese govt by working at Wal Mart (oops...I meant shopping at Wal-Mart), gain seventy five (ok a hundred), start smoking, give up the faggy microbrews/European-Asian beers for Coors Light? Take Michelle out of Carson Scott Pirie suits and get her into Kohls stretch pants? That's a start. Then again Barack's a great basketball player without having to be ghetto, so maybe he can improve without all that extenstive "Heartland" training. hahaha
Hope you caught some of my ANTI-Obama punditry in the Washington Post this past week, TH. Of course it descend to the soap opera quality of 99% of the politicial coverage, but you'd have been proud of my negativity.
On the flip side, I noticed that even in losing certain states where Republicans have held contested primaries, Obama is taking more votes than Senator McCain. When you mix Hillary into the pot it must be downright chilling for you. Of course McCain's gotten a free ride but does that really matter? He's not "your" man anyway. I think the right is holding it's nose, voting for him and hoping that in hacking at Obama, McCain will play along. The jury's still out on that part, ain't it? He didn't even vote for W in 2000--and why should he have? He hated him, he's not too fond of "you all," and he's all wet and fuzzy for Joe Lieberman--who, in domestic issues, at least, remains a Dem. Imagine that.
And imagine what happens when folk like "Clem" wake up to reality, to who'se truly screwing who--then again, Iowa's more or less already spoken, and an ocean of ethanol ain't gonna buy off nobody.
I'm concerned about Barack, but i suspect that you all are also giving a couple of extra nervous dribbles onto the ol' urinal cake over this election. And well you should...even if the Clems of the America don't wake up. Sometimes bowling is just a pasttime, and not a metaphor...
By , at
Wed May 07, 12:15:00 PM:
Is this comment by Christopher Chambers really helping my children?
Just asking.
-David
By , at
Wed May 07, 02:14:00 PM:
If somebody somewhere could give this Chambers guy a clue - just one single, solitary clue - it would change his current status. But he'd likely misplace it, and probably rather quickly at that; experience proves the inertia of total cluelessness is too powerful a force to be overcome.
By Dawnfire82, at
Wed May 07, 03:36:00 PM:
An old blind man routinely outscores Obama's high by 5:1.
That's hilarious. In a sad way.
By , at
Thu May 08, 12:55:00 PM:
BOWLING FOR STORM LAKE how about bowling pins with MICHEAL MOORSE image on them your sure to get a strike every time
By , at
Fri May 09, 10:38:00 AM:
Not to diminish his accomplishments on the lanes, but 78 year olds cannot be WWII vets, as the war ended in 1945 when he was 15.
