Posted by
RepublicanEvangelist on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 3:28:02 PM
There was a book a few years back titled Bowling Alone
http://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Community/dp/0743203046/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229458390&sr=8-1 where the author Robert Putnam uses the decrease in bowling as a symbol of a society retreating from public activities which made for healthy communities. I went bowling last night for the first time in a few years. The last time was the traditional alley with the giant neon Budweiser signs throughout and mozzarella cheese sticks as the food fare. The new bowling is done at the bizarre breeding of the bowling alley and the dance club. Lucky Strike Lanes
http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/ is the company most known for this strange union. People certainly have fun. Moreover bowling is .......... cool? Well it appears to have a hipper vibe than before. What is missing is the communal nature of bowling. You really can't talk to anyone without shouting over the very loud music. The cocktail waitresses were unable to assist with basic questions regarding the automated scoring. Several people bowled under aliases rather than get the machine to use their correct names. The food sounded more uptown but was basically fried breaded cheese (sound familiar?). They were so hip, they didn't even want my shoes. Normally one would have to leave a shoe or shoes as a deposit. The general ugliness of the bowling shoe was enough last night to keep me from high tailing it out of there in my size 9 1/2 flats. Don't get me wrong. We had a great time. I just think something is lost by making something hip that isn't. Some things aren't hip and weren't meant to hip, like myself. Bowling is for us or used to be.