Fill in the blank. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has “Always wanted to _____”. Everyone has to have something that they haven’t done yet that they would like to do.
Maybe yours is skydiving (Oh God! No!), going to the beach, or going to a foreign country.
What would you like to do that you haven’t yet?
I’ll give you two things that I have never done and would like to do.
I’m probably the only person that hasn’t done these two things. Maybe not. There must be other people who haven’t done these things. At least I hope there are.
Go Bowling
I’ve always wanted to go bowling. That’s right people, I have never gone bowling. I didn’t think much about it before. Then, I happened to turn the television over to some bowling. I told myself that I was only going to check it briefly. The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes briefly as a very short time. But how short a time is a short time? I considered it about 2 minutes. The next thing I know I’m watching the whole match. Maybe that’s not the correct word. I watched all the frames. Basically, I watched it to the conclusion. It was only a semifinal. Did I watch the final? Of course. I had to. I needed to see who won. I can’t remember who the players were. I know one thew it two-handed. There are a few players that do that. It seems like that would be more difficult. I don’t watch bowling all the time but every now and then I tune it to watch it.
Back in the old days, my Mom got roped into going bowling with one of her sisters. But this wasn’t only bowling with her sister. She had to join the First National Bank team. Her sister worked there. They were in their twenties. She didn’t want to go. She didn’t enjoy it. Then all of the sudden something happened. And it wasn’t good for my Mom. Her sister couldn’t bowl anymore because she got married and moved away. There was a problem though. My Mom was stuck bowling on a team of people that she didn’t know.
What fascinates me about bowling is it looks easy. But I imagine it is not. Everything always looks easy on television but once you try it, it might not be as easy as you thought.
I’ve heard there are different weights for the bowling balls. But how do you judge what the best weight is?
And then you have to stick your fingers into the holes. I can see my fingers getting stuck and my arm flying off with the ball. 🤣 Really, I’m sure your fingers release easily from the ball. At least I hope so.
My research shows a huge difference in price. I don’t understand why though. I found a story online that says it averages around $30. But that was not what I found locally. I picked out two locations. The first one is about 2 miles from me. I calculated two people during the process. The cost was $12.50-$22.50. The second location is located about 16 miles away. That price was astronomical. For two people, it would cost $130.12. Why this price is so much more than the other one, I don’t know. Maybe because it is a national chain.
I researched overseas and found the price a lot cheaper. In East Sussex (UK) at the Hollywood Bowl, two people bowling at Tunbridge Wells costs the US equivalent of $64.45.
Will I ever go bowling? I hope to. Let’s just hope I don’t get a gutter ball on my first throw.
But how hard can it really be? If you line yourself up and release the ball, it should go straight down and hit the pins right?
Putt-Putt Golf
Believe it or not, I have never gone putt-putt golfing. As you’ve probably read in a past post, I have golfed but that was on an actual golf course.
The only putt-putt golf I’ve played is on the computer. But that doesn’t count. I want to experience the thrill and exhilaration of being outside and watching that little ball bounce off the rail and into the hole.
It sounds like it would be fun to navigate all of the obstacles on each hole.
Conclusion
These are just two of the top things I would like to do. I’d like to travel to a few places too. But I’ll leave that for another post.
As I said at the top of this story, I want to hear what you’ve always wanted to do and haven’t yet. Heck, if you haven’t done what I want to do, let me know in the comments section. We might have something in common.
Thanks
I want to thank all of my readers and subscribers for bearing with me while I took a few weeks off. As soon as I sent that last post out, one person unsubscribed. I wasn’t expecting that. But then I added another subscriber a few days later. I’m trying to catch up on my newsletters. You are the best subscribers anyone could ever have!
Until next time, happy reading!
-Matt
Curious where you're located because here on the West Coast we call it mini golf but my Ohio relatives call it putt putt. Both bowling and putt putt are terrific - I hope you get the chance to do them! I think the thing that I would like to do but haven't is to write and produce a play.
Matt, I really loved this post!
There are plenty of things I haven't done but I'd really like to - for instance, I'd love to pilot a glider. And I'd love to travel - just without the travelling. I think I'll just wait for teleportation tech to make getting across the world take about as long as it takes me to drink a cup of tea.
I last went bowling with my family (by family I mean parents, sibling and our respective spouses) for my birthday over a decade ago. It was fun, but I'm no good at it at all! There isn't quite the same bowling culture over here as across the pond, I don't think - although I might be wrong. I'm not aware of huge competitions and things, and people taking their own ball to the lanes - which is something I seem to see a lot in American films!
How interesting that you picked a branch of Hollywood Bowl that's around 25 miles away from where I am! 🤣