Yesterday, I had the good fortune to have two little boys under my care for a little over 2 hours. It was pure joy, complete fun, and a lasting memory. Will had asked to go bowling, and how could I resist?
WP does not like to have his picture taken. Though he was a good sport, I could not get a smile from him, so I requested his trademark smirk, and this is what I got.
Owen immediately wanted to wear my cowboy hat, and though I do not have a picture to support it, he spend most of the time walking around in my cowboy boots as well. Such a stud.
Owen could not stop smelling the balls. He picked mine up once to clean it, and amazingly handled it pretty well; as it is a heavy ball. Being ever the perceptive one, he asked me why my ball smelled sweet, and I told him it was made with the smell of Hazelnut. He said yum, and couldn't hardly keep his nose off of it. He didn't understand why the others balls did not smell though.
My sweet WP, sitting so calmly, doing exactly what I ask, without ever needing to be told; just does it naturally. His profile pose was so consistent, as each time one of us bowled, he would sit, watch, study; and usually after I had bowled made a comment of observation. One comment was "wow Pappy, your ball is in a real groove, I love how it curves!"
The lanes at this alley have radar, and WP, being numerically observant, learned immediately about ball speed. He discussed with me the nuances of my ball speeds ranging from 13 to 16 mph, and noted also that his balls rarely went above 5 mph, but that Owens balls were all about 7 mph. A very good observation WP. Owen has natural muscular development, is likely to be a hulk, and is so naturally strong; whether he is swinging a baseball bat, or throwing a bowling ball 10 yards down the alley. And though he tried, WP just could not match Owen's strength for throwing the ball. Here is him giving it his best try after I had coached him on some release tips. He hit 5.2 mph, oh well.
After the 1st game, actually, Owen made it to the 8th frame before he got bored and wanted to move on to something else. He bowled all 8 frames himself, I bowled the 9th for him, and WP bowled the 10th for him, and he was done. After that, he wanted to be the ball manager. He made sure each ball was wiped down with my towel after each use, he also made sure the balls didn't get stuck at the entrance. Though having two green balls pinch him a few times, he shrugged it off, and keep on cleaning. When Owen was not being the ball manager, he was doing what he does best, and that is scope out the babes within radar distance. Oh my little Romeo...., and yep, he found a cute little Chinese girl 2 lanes down, about 8, and yep, they smiled and waved a few times. But really what caught Owen's eye was this girls sister that had been born with Mongolism. Owen never pointed, never made a scene, and never asked me about it. But stare he did. And stare some more. So incredibly observant. He knew something was different, just did not know what. And of course, WP never had a clue that any of this was going on...
Here is the boys bowling score. I had to console WP that Owen had beat his score, and though I tempered it with the explanation of the 9th frame strike that I had rolled for Owen; in his mind, he knew he'd been beat. Though the score card cut it off, WP did bowl a 2nd game with me that does not show while Owen was the ball manager, and he did better, scoring a 98 on his 2nd game. That made him happy because it beat Owen's 91. He is SO competitive. I have NO IDEA whatsoever where he inherited that trait . . .
We then moved to the arcade. The boys pretty much blew through $20 on basketball, skeeball, and death to Drug Lord machine gun games. And my oh my, they had their A game on. In this picture, WP is watching oMike score 21 to WP's 16. It is somewhat startling to watch oMike's natural athletic talent. He is so carefree about it, and so confident. He didn't want to play on the baby basketball side; it was too easy for him. He wanted to be challenged, and thus, ended up on the big boy side.
Not to be unnerved again by little brother, WP decided to move to the baby side so that he could be assured of a higher score than oMike. And yep, he nailed 12 of 15, but then again, the basket was so close that he could almost reach it with his fingertips. Having his confidence bolstered, WP moved back over to the big boy side, and scored a record high for the machine of 25. All the while oMike was off blasting the brains out of some computer bad guy, and didn't care a hoot that WP has just bested his score of 21. It sure made WP happy though!
Our time ended of course at QT. The boys had been on a crash diet that today with no lunch, which they told me about while inhaling popcorn and sweet tea at the alley grill. After making their hot dog purchases, (which they both wanted laced heavily with ketchup), we went out to Pappy's truck to enjoy the sun, and to finish their time with me for the day.
Such joy. Such great boys. I love my time with them.
I am a blessed man. Truly a blessed man.
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