I'll take my upscale center any day. 8 miles from my front door, well-lighted, in a busy business area, well-maintained with good parking lot. Soccer moms take their kids there. At my age, I'm done with "sketchy."
Dieing to Bowl...LITERALLY!!
So I get to my seminar in Cleveland Sunday night and decide instead of working out in the little exercise room; I'd go find a downtown Cleveland bowling alley and work on a couple things with a house ball. Take a nice mile walk there and mile walk back...get my exercise that way.
So I go on the internet, find a couple places, one of which looked too "hoity toity" and the other one looked like a more down to Earth place..so I walked to the 2nd one.
Quickly into the trip...I noticed some things:
1) I was one of only about 2-3 people walking around.
2) Next to Detroit...Cleveland is a **** hole.
3) Like Detroit, it was sort of nice within 1 block of the sports stadiums...then quickly turned horrible!
4) Like Detroit...there really weren't many businesses that looked like they were ever really open....just storfronts with gates and closed signs and some broken windows...NOT really a big shopping "centre" per se.
5) Like Detroit...it had a major university amidst what appeared to my a warzone. I mean, Wayne State is in the middle of just a horrible area. Cleveland State; same thing.
So, I walk...and walk...and walk. At one point, I saw one (of 4 people total) and he ducked into a doorway, popped his head out to look at me...then ducked back into the doorway. He was young and african American...and I was worried if I crossed the street...he'd think I was racist. So, against my better judgement...I continued to walk past the doorway...about 20% sure I was about to get jumped.
I didn't. He wasn't there and had went inside the apartment or whatever it was. Phew. So, I continued to walk. Lots of chain link fences with razor wire...broken glass bottles...pretty much telltale signs that you're in a ghetto of some kind. Finally, made the turn up the street toward an old skool sign that said, "BOWLING". I was worried I might have to call a cab to go home...because this trip was scary enough at dusk...much less after dark. As I get to the alley, I go to go in...and the door was locked. It looked like it probably closed down a year or so ago. : (
So...I took a slightly less scary route back through the college area and theatre district...and made it safely back to my hotel.
See folks...THAT is the measure of my commitment to BOWLING. Also, my commitment to not work out. So before you whine like little girly girls about how your assigned VBT center is in an area with a lot of traffic...or kinda shady area...remember this story...of a dorky white guy...wandering the ghetto...fearing that he'd be mugged for the $8 he had in his pocket...maybe kidnapped and sold into sex slavery...I wish...or maybe just thrown off an overpass in some gang initiation....ALL...to go bowling.
True story.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
I'll take my upscale center any day. 8 miles from my front door, well-lighted, in a busy business area, well-maintained with good parking lot. Soccer moms take their kids there. At my age, I'm done with "sketchy."
I know you are from CA but did you really think a 1 mile walk through downtown Cleveland was a good idea?
Every city has its bad areas. If you don't know the city and are just going shortest route... you are playing with fire :P
Aslan: You made my day! I lived on the outskirts of Cleveland for about 2 years from 1991 to 1993 and there are some truly scary areas in that city. Just get home safely, and forget about bowling for the time being.
At what point did you think you should have called ahead to find out their hours.Originally Posted by Aslan
Oh BTW Del Rosa had a shooting in the parking lot last month.
Aslan do you have
a will???? If not please go to Office Max and get a will packet! Very cheap, and easy to fill out! Put me down for your balls!! Let me be more specific,,,lol,,, the balls in your closet... You know that doesn't even sound right!! NEVER MIND!! Keep your balls! (
Maybe the reason you are DANCING with DANGER, ,,, ,, It's because you have balls....... lots of balls!!
in your closet! (Bring them OUT OF THE CLOSET,,,, this is 2014....
Don't walk on Thin Ice!
Oh man so many directions to go with this one. No to easy of a target.a will???? If not please go to Office Max and get a will packet! Very cheap, and easy to fill out! Put me down for your balls!! Let me be more specific,,,lol,,, the balls in your closet... You know that doesn't even sound right!! NEVER MIND!! Keep your balls! (
Maybe the reason you are DANCING with DANGER, ,,, ,, It's because you have balls....... lots of balls!!
in your closet! (
yep!!!!! Lol,,,,
thanks for sharing Asla...... a good read.
Last edited by MICHAEL; 06-24-2014 at 12:52 AM.
Don't walk on Thin Ice!
The last two lines reek of something overheard at "Skippy Spank's Boom Boom Room."
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