No Gutter Bawl For This Guy

Next time you think you can't do something, when physical limitations seem insurmountable, when you believe you're too old, too inept, too unfit, too whatever - think about this guy, and then try again...

Dale Davis, 78, of Alta, Iowa is blind.  His sight was lost due to macular degeneration (my Mom has dealt with a form of this for years now - an actual macular hole in her eye, giving her an infuriating blind spot).

But Dale's lifelong love has been bowling.  When his eyesight began fading, so did his frequency at the bowling alley, and eventually he stopped completely, convinced that without sight, there was nothing left for him to enjoy.

(I can't fault him.  I CAN see and the best I have ever bowled is a 19.  Shut up.)

Well, through the encouragement of his sister, he began going back to the lanes, where he now bowls upwards of 6 games a week, relying on sound, friends, and the raised dots on the lanes for ball guidance.

And this past week, this blind senior citizen, who once gave up his love ... bowled a perfect game.

That's right.  12 straight strikes, a feat he had never come close to as a younger man with two functioning eyeballs.

So the next time you think you can't jog around the block, paint a picture, or learn a new skill - think of Dale.

I always tell my girls that "Attitude is half the battle." 

Dale just proved me right.

Comments

[Stacey]

AWESOME!! It's stories like that that brighten my day!
I only attempted to bowl ONCE....I threw the ball 12 feet up in the air and it landed in the next alley!
Oh well..."that's the way the ball bounces"
LOL

[Nikki]

I was always a bad bowler. Sober. I find my game improves once I am a bit tipsy. Cannot explain it.

This guy is great and amazing. Good for him that he found a way to keep enjoying his favorite activity and excel at an even higher level than when he was sighted.

Thanks, Linda. I have been having a pity party this morning and needed to stop already.

[ChickyChick (Kathy) to Linda]

Uplifting story, thanks...now get that itty bitty, teeny tiny behind of yours off the computer and go have some fun with that handsome hunk of yours!

[Toni]

I think this sums it up for me:
Why doesn't constant trampling defeat the dandelion? The key to its strength is its long and sturdy root, which extends deep into the earth. The same principle applies to people. The true victors in life are those whose who, enduring repeated challenges and setbacks, have sent the roots of their being to such a depth that nothing can shake them.
Daisaku Ikeda

[Mom of 5]

A couple of nights ago I finished a book I picked up off the classics rack at Barnes and Noble (there's no smell like a new book) called The Four Feathers, which I would absolutely recommend. One of the main characters in the book goes blind from a bad sunstroke in the Sudan. It was very interesting to see how he didn't let his blindness get him down; rather, the character says that he didn't start to "see" until he went blind. When I read that Mr. Davis actually bowled a perfect game, I got goosebumps. Sometimes truth is better than fiction. :-)

[Jessica to Nikki]

I am the same way! Only not with bowling, but pool. There is major suckage on my part when I try to play sober, but if I have about two martini's, my "game" (I'm being very loose with that term...) improves drastically.

I don't bowl anymore. The last time I went, there was a chip in one of the bowling ball holes and when I threw it, it sliced a big, deep gash in my finger. And while I'm not OCD or anything, the thought of all the people's dirty nasty hands who have been inside that bowling ball which I'm sure has never watched inside the holes. Just....ewwww....

[Gary]

A 19, Linda? You and Obama should join a league together - you'd get ka-jillions of handicap points...