By Henry, January 27, 2019 — I don’t always remember how old I am now, but I remember I was almost 15 years old when I began my first job. My brother, Ben, had already found a place to work, and I did not want to go home by myself after school. Ben made it easier because at least we would get in trouble together. When it was just me, I would get it all from Mamo. I like to think I was a decent well-behaved boy, especially compared to some of my buddies. Yet, I was always getting in trouble with the nuns at school. They would take rulers to my wrists and telephone books to the back of my head, but that was nothing compared to how Mamo would punish me.
So, to avoid that as much as possible, I took the first job I could find. It was as a pin boy at Singer Lanes, which was luckily just a short walk from home. It was an okay job, but the money was good so I kept working there for a while. I would stack the pins and collect the money from the bowling alley patrons. It was a penny a pin. Anyone could have done the job. When it was a slow night, my boss let me and the buddies I worked with use the lanes to play a game of bowling. I got pretty good at bowling after all the practice I had from working there.
During my time in the service on USS Comet AP-166, where I saw a little action in the South Pacific, all I could think about was how much I missed bowling, I missed the typical, predictable routine of being a pin boy and continuously stacking the pins. I even missed getting punished by Mamo, believe it or not. I cannot say I missed the nuns, though. That was one of the few things I did not miss. When I got back from the service, and thank God we got home in one piece, one of the first things I did was return to the bowling alley. I went to catch up with a few buddies I knew would be there. After not having seen them in a few months, I was eager to tell them all about the seas, especially the apricot sour drink I learned how to make. The apricot sour ended up becoming my infamous holiday drink. Luckily, my time at sea did not affect my bowling game too much. I was still able to bowl a game in the mid 200s.
That night of catching up with my buddies, I could not help but notice the girl two lanes over. She was with her girlfriends, and I just knew I could not leave the lanes that night without asking her to go on a date with me. I tried to bowl a few strikes to get her attention, but she would not even look my way. I realized it was up to me to go over there and start up a conversation. I tried my best to be nice. We talked for a while and I found out her name was Natalie. I asked her if she would like to go a date, and luckily she said 3 times yes. Luckily we really hit it off between our common interests in bowling, our cultures and values aligning, and the love we shared.
While there are things from my life I want to forget, I will make sure to always remember how that bowling alley gave me my first job, the first hobby I really enjoyed, and my first serious girlfriend, who would eventually become my wife. The bowling alley is to thank for all that, but teamwork is the real piece of advice I can offer. Teamwork, and years of fun at the lanes, is how we got to where we are today.