Date: Fri 15-Sep-1995

By KIM HARMON

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

KH-Column-Bowling

Full Text:

Column - Bowling Me Over

Kim Harmon/On Sports

Bowling Me Over

Bowling . . . I used to think that it was the single dumbest thing people

could do in the form (even if it's loosely associated here) of athletics but

sitting here, running my finger over the cool mock leather of a brace with the

cork inserts designed to make my wrist utterly inflexible - and therefore give

me better accuracy on my ball - I have to wonder what I have become.

Used to be, I could not understand the attraction of a sport (once again, the

term is used loosely) that had a finite level of success (the 300 game). I

could throw a 300 game one night and know that no one, anywhere in the world,

could throw a 301.

Think about it . . . Steve Young could throw six touchdown passes in a

football game and even though you would think no QB is going to come along and

do better, one could. Young himself could come back the next week and throw

eight TD passes. And then 10 the week after that.

Perfection is not an issue in any sport . . . except bowling (if it can be

construed as a sport, considering that you can be overweight, smoke, and drink

to excess and still be the best in your league).

But after shunning bowling through my early twenties I was asked to be on a

bowling team - begged, actually, if I remember correctly - and I said, okay,

what the heck. But for the first two years I was content to walk into the

house (meaning, the alley . . . like other sports, bowling has its own

cliches) and pick a house ball - replete with chips and gouges and finger

holes as jagged as broken bottle necks - off the rack and then go rent a pair

of odoriferous shoes that smelled hideous even back when Moses used to bowl.

That was my preparation.

I think it was in my third year that I went out and bought my own ball and my

own pair of shoes . . . but I was still on the safe side of the fence, a

bowling participant rather than a bowler (there is a difference). The ball I

bought was a simple Brunswick, a beginner's model that's like buying a Ford

Pinto when what you really need is an Audi 5000 (and there are many different

kinds of balls, made out of many different kinds of materials).

That ball lasted three years (and was the ball I used to roll my career high

game - 246) but when I finally retired it to the garage it looked so beat up I

began thinking the next slightest nick would cause it to disintegrate into a

15-pound pile of urethane dust.

The fact that I felt I needed a new ball (coupled with the fact that, the year

before, I had started using a towel to wipe it off after every roll and a

rosin bag to give myself a better grip) made me realize I had crossed over the

line. I had become a bowler.

As much as I wanted to believe that I, at least in some small part, athletic,

I never achieved anything of any value - championship-wise - outside of the

bowling alley.

(NOTE: That is, until last Sunday, when the Newtown Slo-Pitch Softball team I

played on - in a small way, I admit - won the league championship over Newtown

Exxon). Ever since I started bowling again I have been a captain (a position

that, I admit, is not revered but actually shunned) and in the eight years

that I have competed I have captained a team into the league championship five

times. Two of those times I took home the first-place trophy . . . the only

trophies I earned through any form of athletics.

It would be okay if I was only okay at this, but I'm pretty good in comparison

to the people I bowl against. Two of the last three years I've carried an

average in the mid-160s and this year - after kicking off the season with my

first career 600 series - I have my eyes set on an average of 170, a realm

where only 10 or 11 people will take up residence all season.

Ten years ago I wouldn't be worried about something like that. I would more or

less be worried about whether or not I could get enough guys together for a

flag football game.

But I found something I'm good at and while I don't think I've convinced

myself that bowling is an actual athletic event, for the time being I will go

under that assumption.

Next HRRA Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Event Scheduled In Newtown

Genealogy Club's Next Program To Dig Into 'Dissecting A Civil War Pension Record'

Choral Society Planning ‘Voices Of America’ Performance

Newtown Earth Day Festival Was A Success

Local Fourth Grader To Host ‘Gaming For Change’ On May 16

The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

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Date: Fri 15-Sep-1995

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