COMMENTS & CURIOSITIES

Peter Buffa

I’m jealous. Even as we speak, read, whatever -- the U.S. Open is

being played in Orange County for the first time in history. One of the

biggest sporting events of the year and we didn’t get it. Who did?

Fountain Valley.

Yep. All this week, the best players and the biggest names on the Pro

Tour have been going toe-to-toe right next door in Costco land. Every

superstar on the tour is here: Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ritchie Allen,

even Ryan Shafer. What do you mean, “Who?” Oh, sorry. Not that U.S. Open.

That’s the PGA. You’re only one letter off. Try the PBA, as in

Professional Bowler’s Association.

Yes, it’s true. Just across the raging Santa Ana River, the best

keggers in the country are trying to find the groove and slide into that

pocket. Do you know where the word “keggers” comes from? Neither do I.

But I say “You go, Fountain Valley.” Good for you.

Longtime Fountain Valley council member and Mayor John Collins is a

good friend, despite being a Red Sox fan, and a tireless booster for his

city. Considering Fountain Valley beat out some pretty big dogs to get

the PBA tournament, including Las Vegas and Dallas, John said he doesn’t

mind if his city becomes the capitol of professional bowling.

“There are worse things to be known for,” he said. “It’s not like

you’re going to change the city logo over to a bowling ball or anything,

but we’d be fine with that title.”

You gotta love bowling. It really is a time machine. The Golden Age of

bowling in this country was the 1950s and the early ‘60s. I can’t drive

by our own Kona Lanes and that wonderful, ‘50s “googie” sign, without

seeing Dick Weber or Don Carter doing their thing, or hearing Chris

Schenkel’s whispered commentary. I’ll even admit to watching “Make That

Spare” and “Bowling for Dollars.”

Everything about the sport is a reminder of simpler days and simpler

ways. I get to a bowling alley at least twice every 10 years, but you

never forget the sights and the sounds: the long roll of the ball, the

“crack” of the pins, the “thumpa-thump-thump” of a gutter ball. If I step

into Kona Lanes today, I could just as well be at Woodlawn Lanes on Bronx

Boulevard or Wakefield Bowling & Billiards on White Plains Road in 1959.

Hate to say this, but I actually worked now and then as a pin boy at

Wakefield. For those of you who have not yet reached the half-century

mark, until automated pin spotting machines came along bowling pins were

manually reset by pin boys working behind and just above the lanes.

Pin boys were usually young kids because you had to be small and fast.

You’d reset the pins, then hop up on a small shelf behind you and cover

your head with your arms until the ball arrived. Every so often, a pin

would come rocketing up from below and clatter around the cramped space

like a piece of shrapnel.

A buddy of mine, Tony Pecorraro, was permanently excused from the pin

boy crew for cursing really loud whenever that happened. He couldn’t

understand that bowlers get very upset when the pins curse back at them.

Is there a bowling Hall of Fame? I’m glad you asked. The International

Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame is in downtown St. Louis, and bowling

fans from around the world flock to see the exhibits and memorabilia of

bowlers from back in the day.

Actually, all teasing aside, bowling has seen a huge resurgence in

popularity in recent years, from young kids to fully-grown persons. It’s

considered a pretty hip thing to do these days, believe it or not, for a

date or a party or even a corporate bash. Some bowling alleys, including

Kona Lanes, have cleverly combined two of the highest known forms of

kitsch -- bowling and karaoke. Open bowling and open mic night in the

karaoke bar. It’s all there.

You can either watch someone slide head-first toward the pins with

their thumb stuck in the big hole, or listen to someone in the cocktail

lounge belt out his personal rendition of “My Way.” Could there be a more

perfect evening? I think not.

But if you want to see some of the few people who can actually play

the game as intended, get yourself down to Fountain Bowl in Fountain

Valley. But you better hurry. It’s all over but three strikes in the

tenth frame today. In the world of bowling, it does not get any better

than this. And to a 19-year-old aspiring pro bowler from Victorville

named Evan Tolson, it’s hard heading back to the high desert once you’ve

seen Fountain Valley.

“This is awesome. I’m only 60 miles away from here. You can’t pass up

an opportunity like this,” he said.

No you cannot, Evan. You cannot and you must not. I gotta go.

* PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs Sundays.

He may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].