My grandfather was a bowler
\npretty good, in fact
\nnational tournaments
\nleague championship teams<\/p>\n
Once he bowled a 299
\nduring a league championship
\n\u2018299 and a wiggle\u2019 proclaimed
\ntongue-in-cheek trophy
\n300 is the most you can score<\/p>\n
His teammates gifted him
\nbowling pin
\nhand-painted with<\/p>\n
Gramps\u2019 caricature \u2013
\nreplete with cigarette dangling
\nfrom thin lips, slicked-back
\njet-black hair, mischievous eyes<\/p>\n
Like many of his immigrant ilk
\nmy grandfather was a
\nvoracious reader<\/p>\n
that Christmas
\nshortly after bowling his 299
\nGramps\u2019 cousin
\nunsurprisingly gifted him a book<\/p>\n
How to Bowl<\/em> was opened kept the book in his bookcase When he died etiquette toward my pin boy Though I still love to bowl Where I can always pull it down I can also grab How to Bowl<\/em> and just how to always be the coolest
\nso I was told
\nto uproarious laughter
\nGramps, smooth as Norsk custard
\nthanking his cousin
\nwith a satisfied grin<\/p>\n
\nthe next thirty years
\ncaricature bowling pin on
\nliving room floor next to it<\/p>\n
\none of my cousins got the pin
\nI kept the book
\neven though I have no use for
\n1947 World Bowling Champion
\nNed Day\u2019s advice on<\/p>\n
\nwhat a Brooklyn Bucket is
\ndifference between
\n\u2018pie alleys\u2019 and \u2018cheese-cakes\u2019<\/p>\n
\nI don\u2019t very often, still
\nHow to Bowl<\/em> is always handy on
\nthe small shelf above my desk<\/p>\n
\nfor quick brushing up on
\narcane lingo, quirky phrasing
\n(all heard in my grandfather\u2019s \u2018tick\u2019
\nNorwegian immigrant accent)<\/p>\n
\nfor more meaningful refreshers on
\nbeing able to have a
\nlaugh at my own expense
\nappreciation of doing something well<\/p>\n
\ngoddamn dude in the room<\/p>\n