I promised to start this tonight, so here goes!

I just got back from dinner.  I passed on the poker/pool/darts/social.  It has been several long, exciting days and I decided to go back to the hotel and chill.

First I'd like to say SrKegler, Mrs Keler and BigWillyStyle, you were missed very much.  We all hope you are fine and safe!

I have to admit whenever I come to NC, I feel like a celebrety.  I walk into Creekside Lanes and am greeted with "Hey Thong Princess glad to see you back here."  I am introduced to all witha "She came all the way from California, just to be here."  What a great start.

Glenn28, Linda (his better half), and I had set up a lesson with Ron for Thursday afternoon.  A BR lurker, ThinkYoung, and his wife Louise showed up and bowled next door to us.  Strider made an appearance and joined them.  The lesson went great!  I got great news, a drill to work on, and found out I can release the ball with a whole lot more tape in it than I thought was possible.  

Everytime I dropped a ball, Ron would say "Put another piece of tape in."  I would give him a hard time about wanting to get a picture of TP spralled out on the lane with the ball still attached to the thumb , but put the tape in and there is no picture, I actually could release the ball, and better

Ron graciously worked with us, video taping and coaching for quite some time. We all ended the lesson tired, but feeling like we had really learned something.  Several others arrived, I can't remember which arrived on Thursday.  Strider, Mrs Strider, Ron, Toma, Nollster, Steve (from Bowl4Fun chat), and I went to dinner at Hong Kong King (I think that was the name).  We literally closed the place down.  They very nicely gave us hints to leave.  We finally did

Friday, we met at about 11AM.  We went into the meeting room for introductions.  The room was full.  Julius (I can't remember the screen name) and his wife (Sharon if I remember correctly), Crazyyankee,  Frank the Tank, a_ak57, jjweb, kev3inp and his wife Diane, mmike 1053 and his wife, WillynHook, and those of us from Thursday were told sort of what to expect and tentative plans for the tourney, scotch doubles, lineage costs, and so on.  Then it was off to the lanes for bowling and socializing.  As the day progressed others arrived including Re-evolution and Erica, Joe "the energizer bunny" Falco, Lucky Lefty, Rick Wunder, BoyToy and Heather.  I apologize for anyone I forgot to mention.

A large group went to dinner at Omega House.  Scotch Doubles was on tap after dinner.  Several of us "wimmins got us two mens"  We had a blast!  Poor Toma who got me as a partner, I put him to work trying to pick up the variety of splits I left him  Rick Wunder was the other privliged to get me for a partner, but I didn't leave him quite as much garbage.

Saturday started at 10AM with additional arrivals JPRLane1 and LexLefty.  There was a brief meeting to get specifics on practive before the tourney, format, and handicap.  Richie from Lane#1 came with balls to donate, and talked with the group.

The tourney was great, 3 games across 6 lanes with a different pattern on each pair.  One was a 40ft flat pattern, the other two I can't recall.  I expected to score the lowest on the flat pattern, but didn't.  JPR was the winner of the coveted shirt and his choice of donated Lane#1 bowling ball.  Frank won the most average score and also received one of the bowling balls.  I forgot who won the ball for lowest score  No it wasn't me

This is way too long so I'll stop after saying it has been great renewing old friendships and making new one!  What a great group of people!

A major thank you to Ron, for his patience, sharing his knowledge, and hosting this fantastic event!  Ron, you are the best!

I apologize for not recognizing Karen, Mrs Ron, and Little Ron, but they weren't able to join us until Saturday afternoon.  Class acts for sure!

Also a big thank you to the awesome staff at Creekside who went above and beyond to make us all feel like family!

To those who had wanted to attend, but couldn't you missed another great gathering and I sure hope to see you next year!
--------------------
"I cannot change the direction of the wind but I can adjust my sails to reach my destination." Jimmy Dean



Edited on 7/25/2006 4:33 PM

TOMA ..knock them dead .. let us know how you do!
--------------------
Hit them light and watch them fight
      J O E - F A L C O

Think I would have played them the same! Great expereince .. next time YOU catch the brakes!
--------------------
Hit them light and watch them fight
      J O E - F A L C O

Well..... I have finally finished up teaching at various locations all
around DelMarVa that I started the day after the gathering ended. (I won't
miss getting up at 4:30 every morning, driving an hour, teaching all day,
driving back, -repeat- ...whew...)

So I am late to report on my impressions of everyone.

Did most of my bowling at the gathering with:

Frank the Tank
CrazyYankee
Joe Falco
Steve (Bowl4Fun Chat)
JessN16
Magic Carpet

I had a great deal of fun tossing games with them all. One day, soon,
I hope to actually win a set against Steve.....He always comes through
in the clutch. Darn that single pin.

I hope to have one-tenth the amount of good cheer and bowling
energy of Joe Falco when I am his age. (He is what, 45? --grin--)

Frank the Tank is fun to talk with and trade bowling information plus he
has an interesting bowling style that is uniquely his own.

CrazyYankee is, well, a crazy yankee that is always excited with
all that is going on around him.

JessN16 is the owner of every possible odd-ball bowling ball. You look
in his bag and it is full of misfits. I mean, come on, a ball with an 11 inch
pin? I think the ball was on the cusp of breaking some fundamental laws of
physics as it was in use. (Especially, as Magic Carpet was tossing it on the
lane for a bit). Hope your car's air conditioning is working again.

Magic Carpet is a very good host. He also has a good eye for coaching. He
seems to notice one really good thing to practice each time I have been
the beneficiary of his coaching. I can tell he truthfully has a good time
during the gathering and is not just doing this from a business angle. It is
nice to find someone that not only enjoys what they do but also enjoys
the company of others. Can't say enough good things about him. (Plus the
staff at creekside are immediately like family. (even the "one" with the
crazy pinky finger trick....yeah, figure that out...)

Sorry, this message is a bit steam of consciousness so it is not necessary
that it make perfect sense.

And all of the others..... I'll try to bowl some games with ya'all next time
I make a gathering.

ThongPrincess: class act... impressive woman that everyone should respect not
only as a bowler, but as a person. She has much life experience as anyone can
tell from her as she tells you about her history and family.  

LuckyLefty: Very knowledgeable about the game and history of the game. Has
some really good contacts within the bowling realm. A good and reliable source
of information.

Strider is the "Mr. Smooth" of bowling. Great balance and soooo smooth on the
bowling approach. I wish I could do that.

Toma: Nice to meet you. I am glad to find someone else in the bowling word
that will immediately understand what I mean when I say, "twins!" And, yes,
I am already looking at the Honda Odyssey.

a_ak57: The dude is quiet in person. Mr. Intensity on the bowling lanes. A
cranker.

Everyone else... Nollster,Re-evolution, glenn28, rick, ummmm..lexlefty, linda,
erica, mmike..... I'm sure I and forgetting more of ya'all....Everyone was
friendly, funny, and great to spend a couple days with.


Lastly, Richie Sposato...I can confidently say that the CEO of Lane#1 could
most probably win a bowling tournament that pitted all the bowling CEO's
against each other. He has serious game. First, his travel was delayed nearly
a day in the airport, his bags were all missing, and he arrived very late
the night before. When his bowling balls magically finally arrived he
casually broke out the upcoming clear ball and toss about 14 strikes in a
row on an oil pattern that many off us all struggled on during the bragging
rights tournament. (realise, he had a travel hang-over, no luggage, and
a bunch of bowling fanatics around him... ho-hum, just toss about 25 strikes
in about 30 throws with a "spare" ball.)

I want to say thank you to Richie as well. He provided the gathering and
bragging rights tournament with some lane #1 balls. A cobalt solid - awarded
to JPRlane1, a cobalt pearl - awarded to Frank, and a carbide to Mike. I
was the lucky recipient of a crystal buzzsaw - woohoo!

Whatever you might feel about Lane#1 or Richie Sposato - all I can say is
that he is a great advocate for the game and the bowling ball industry. He
asked me not too long ago to do a "scientific investigation" of the physical
dynamics of the core design of the lane#1 diamond core. Well, after a year
of calculus, experimentation, and modeling I was able to give him the
final report at the gathering. Did Richie know what the results would be
before hand? NO. Did he ask me to change my conclusions? NO. He just wanted
an honest and independent investigation on the core design. Some real
numbers and theoretical results to base his ideas on. So, I will say that
Richie is very sincere in what he does to promote his bowling balls and
his company. (In fact, I'm toying with some ideas to take the research to
the next level - the whole ball.) I now understand why there are many
bowlers that are a bit fanatical in their indvidual support of Lane#1.
(Oh, and yes, there is some truth to the diamond core shape hype.)

Wow.... this report is long..... I wonder if anyone will actually read this
far?

What else, ah! Winston-Salem is a great area! Love the rolling hills.

Had a great time. Loved to meet everyone. Is Joe Falco still bowling? - because
if no one let him know, he is probably still on the lanes bowling one game
after the next after the next.....

Dr. Joe




--------------------
Dr. Joseph Howard
Joe's Physics Page    

"Imagine what you could do,
if you could do what you imagine"

F.O.S. Member & Physics Researcher
Uranium Pearl - 16 lbs
Uranium Solid - 15 lbs
Cobalt Bomb - 15 lbs
Tsunami H^2O - 15 lbs
Bullet - 16lbs
XXXL - 16lbs
Lane 1: 4 Ball Roller





Edited on 8/11/2006 12:25 PM

Dr Joe it was a pleasure to meet you! Nice job on the review .. I've made all four of the get-togethers .. if I don't make the next .. check the obituaries .. I WILL be at the next one .. hope to see you then!
--------------------
Hit them light and watch them fight
      J O E - F A L C O

great review dr. joe.enjoyed taling and bowling with you.hope you can make next years gathering despite the twins.
--------------------
Allen Greenberg

FOS lane 1 destroy's the pins.
cherry bomb
dirty bomb
golden nugget
enriched uranium
cobalt bomb