"The Angst Of 299" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got out of bed, and while still in my PJ's, opened the front door and into my entranceway drops my morning newspaper.  How's that for service?  My wife and I have been living at Woodcrest Villas in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, going on our third year.  And...one of my most memorable tales I tell my friends about the place is about getting my morning newspaper.  There is no need to immediately get dressed, since my next half-hour or so will be devoted to reading my morning newspaper and watching the morning news on my TV.  I should tell you that from time to time, the newspaper is at the end of our driveway, which means that my newspaper man is on vacation, but still doesn't mean I have to get dressed, yet!  Anyway...today's paper had a large photo on the front page which featured a woman bowling at 222 Dutch Lanes in Ephrata, PA.  The headline read...When Weidman got 10 strikes in a row a few years back, she remembers the nerves of approaching 300.  "I could not walk, I was so shaky," she said.  As you might have guessed...the front-page story was telling about someone who have rolled a 300 game and someone who was sharing their recollections of coming up just short of a perfect score.  The huge one-inch-high typed headline read..."THE ANGST OF 299."  A second, smaller sub-headline read... "Bowlers - some who have rolled a 300 game - share recollections of coming just short of a perfect score."  Story also began on the front page, but at the end of the short column of type, the reader was told to see---"BOWLING, page A20."  Naturally, that happens to be the "Sports Section" today.  A bit of the story from page 1, written by Andrew Kehe, reads...  The buzz in the bowling house was palpable.  In his first varsity match for Conestoga High, freshman Ryan Graham had strung together 11 strikes.  One more and he'd roll his first 300 game - on his 15th birthday, no less.  As always happens when a bowler is on the brink of greatness, a small crowd gathered around his lane.  Nerves firmly affixed, Graham took his ball off the rack, wiped it clean and aimed....His two-handed spinning release directed the ball within inches of the right gutter before the intense rotation snapped it back, left toward the pocket.  Than ... bang!  Are you ready for the next sentence in the paper??  A standing 7-pin stood defiantly in the corner, seemingly wagging its finger, as if to say "no-no" to Graham's perfecto.  What a crushing blow, right?  How do you go on after that? 299...are you kidding me?  Hopes and dreams dashed by one stubborn pin.  Or maybe not.  He decided that "OK, now I know it's possible, so let's go do it."  And...he did, just a few weeks later.  And...to top that off...he's had 57 more since.  Have you ever been bowling?  Ever roll a 300?  I bowled for most of my lifetime and I never have bowled a 300.  Yeah...I know not everyone is a great bowler!  I can attest to that fact!  My highest was a 258 and I was in Heaven that time!  My problem is that I don't go bowling all the time which is almost a necessity if you expect to get good at the sport.   And, I'm afraid that I never will get a 300 since being 80 years old and barely able to stride down the lane and release that heavy ball is never going to happen again.  But, I'm so happy to see someone achieve the best possible score that a bowler can roll...300!  So, for now...I will read the "Sports" section of my daily newspaper and hope to see someone has rolled a 300 once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.