Georgia: Bowling or death...you're free to make that choice
Bowling rocks! Really!
I've dug bowling since I was a little kid back in the early 60's....before the Beatles!
I remember watching dudes like Don Carter, Dick Weber, Carmen Salvino on television in black and white. I think I was ten when I joined my first league. It was a thrill to score one hundred, but even if I didn't, it was fun to hang out with my friends.
In the 1980's, I was still watching bowling. I usually worked on Saturday mornings, so when I came home it was nap time with the PBA Tour on in the background. Chris Shrenkel and Bo Burton on the broadcast with stars like Mike Aulby, Marshall Holman and young Pete Weber. I liked the competition. If I fell asleep and missed who was the winner, no biggie. Win/Win!!
Fast forward to today. I'm still into bowling. Us media/journalist types have a local bowling league. It meets every Tuesday during the fall and winter. It's as much about hanging out and drinking beer as it is the competition, but I'm down with that....almost everyone is! When I had rotator cuff issues and missed last season, it was disappointing.
Okay...okay..we get it...you really like bowling. Get to the point, already!
Here's the point....in the state of Georgia, the lanes are open for you to bowl. Along with getting a haircut, a massage, a tattoo, you can now top it off with a couple of lines of bowling. WOW! That's a full day of entertainment!
I'm not sure of the reasoning behind the opening of any of these things, but those are the enterprises that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp decided would be safe to open to the public. I always wonder what the thought process is behind any bizarre decision. Usually I can come up with something even stranger than the truth. Not in this case.
It's easy to figure out why Kemp opened anything. His idol Donald Trump wants to get the economy moving again. The day after setting guidelines for any state to reopen, Trump chimed in with that "Liberate" bullshit. Kemp took him at that word. He wanted to be the first to liberate his state. Hence, tats, haircuts and bowling. The problem is Trump backed off after hearing from medical experts. He called out and threw Kemp under the bus publicly. That's nothing new for anyone who gets involved with Trump. Brian Kemp should have known that, but in his fever to suck up to Donald, he got carried away. And now, Kemp isn't backing down...even as the rates of infection and death in his state are rising.
In an age of social distancing, I don't know how bowling in public is going to work. I suppose you can rent out every other lane to keep people six feet apart. That could work, but what about finding a bowling ball? Usually, people find a ball by putting their fingers inside the holes to see if the ball fits. Will they carry hand sanitizer spray with them and de-infect each ball? Is there even such a thing?
And don't get me started on sharing bowling shoes!! YUCK...under the best of conditions...and people, these aren't the best of conditions!
To Brian Kemp, I give you this infamous quote from the great Pete Weber,"Who do you think you are? I am!" I really have no idea what this means, but it sounds like it works under these circumstances. To the people of Georgia, good luck with all of this. As another one of other states says, "Live free or die." That choice is now up to you!
Related Post: Liberate 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue before Donald Trump kills us all
Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.