i’ve loved midnight bowling ever since i was a teenager for many reasons. you remember how liberating it felt when the bell rang to dismiss school? or what about summer vacation? even getting your license?! those are moments of our youth that give us feelings we will spend the rest of our lives trying to recreate only to feel like we used to. midnight bowling is one of those past times that makes me feel something i cant quite put my finger on. in all honesty, that’s all i’m looking for these days; is just to feel something. the environment. the music. the coke and fries. the sound of bowling balls rolling down slick wooden lanes. pins falling in physics-defying fashion. neon signs. laughter. friendly competition. all these things combine to make magic at its purest form.
i always joke with myself i’ll fall in love in a bowling alley, but honestly it wouldn’t be too surprising if it happened that way for me. tonight i went with a few friends i love to the bowling alley and it was fun. at one point, i people watched while i wasn’t bowling and everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives from my observations. i was interrupted by a drunk white guy who came up to me yelling “duuuuuuuke” holding his hand out for a shake. i was confused at first but when i realized he was referring to my jersey, i got happy and dapped him up telling him we were going to win the acc title saturday night. he walked away after our interaction and i continued to people watch, except this time i began day dreaming about being here with someone i love rather than people i love. before i could get too deep into thinking, aaron came up to tell me it was my turn. i walked up to bowl, in and out of reality, fantasizing of who i would fall in love with at the bowling alley if i had my pick.
i bowled a gutter, but i was content in being in my own imagination rather than the score on the screen. because when the music’s right, the moment’s right, and who are we to be wrong?
-ratha, 3.11.17, 12:54am