Member-only story
Duckpin Bowling? We Like to Think It’s Our Thing
Our city, Baltimore, does as well.
We’ve been doing a lot of bowling recently. It’s not something either one of us has ever done with any consistency and I don’t think we had ever even gone together up until a few weeks ago.
It’s a good pandemic pass-time. Every bowling alley we have visited has been largely empty and if there are other bowlers, they’re always many lanes away. Since balls are never used in any lane other than your own, you never come in contact with anyone else. With strong sanitization and a mask mandates, bowling has been a nice way to get out while feeling comfortable about your own safety.
I was essentially dragged to my first duckpin bowling experience by a friend a few weeks ago. He had been boasting about its recreational value for awhile and it was his birthday — so his choice. I couldn’t remember the last time I went bowling.
And what fun I had!
We visited Baltimore’s Patterson Bowling Center. I specify for a few reasons — Baltimore likes to claim duckpin bowling originated there, but it probably didn’t. They say Babe Ruth bowled there (he was born in Baltimore), but they aren’t really sure. But despite these unsureties, it is still historic — and in a few years will be celebrating the big 1–0–0.
