From Zero to Hero

I'm not a natural born leader.

Since my birth my father has tried to do otherwise though. After my brother failed my father (in my father's eyes only), he turned to me in my youth to extract the same qualities that constitutes a leader of men. I was taught how to create, build, and care for all the plants, trees, and animals on our large ranch. Bu he also taught me how to hunt, trap, and ultimately, kill. I excelled, to his happiness, at many things, but I excelled at two things, Husbandry (which is animal care, not what most of you guys are doing now) and Marksmanship. I excelled in all things guns for a while in my young life, till I found that I was expected to kill animals for fun with them, like a lot of men on my father's side did. At any rate, through all the wilderness survival, gun work, and animal care my father stressed one thing.

Focus.

I am starting to wonder if I have actually focused throughly through out a full set of frames. I know cleaning up a tenth frame with a turkey is not foreign to me, but last night in the last game I found my zone. It was in between the Tom Collins and the training from my father.

I focused last night, simple as that. But other factors were influential as well. Some of these are comical, some are serious. I'll let you make up your own mind which are which.

First off, The Tortoise had already done it. The veil of mystery had been pierced, the path had been blazed. Even if The Tortoise didn't show us exactly how it was done, he at least showed us that it COULD be done. That is enough for me most of the time. Like I said before, I am not much of a leader, but I'm one hell of a follower.

Secondly, There were no beautiful women around. That's a weak one for me. Nothing shatters my focus more, hell my thought process, than connecting eyes with a lovely young woman. (and I stress woman, at least I hope in all cases) No matter the reaction, good or bad, that connection for that split second makes me think of other things besides bowling. Which inevitably messes with my tempo and social rhythm. Even if I refrain from looking, I disrupt my Zen by having to spend energy and focus trying NOT to look.

I've been working on this lately, this weakness. I've considered improving my focus, meditating on either keeping distractions like beautiful women outside my attention, or possibly even heroically overcoming the petty problem, to look beautiful women in they eyes, and to come away with some secret knowledge, some inner confidence that would allow me to throw with unparalleled skill and ability.

I went with a third option though. I raised my standards. Simple really, works too. Enough said.The third reason was that I was in a very comfortable atmosphere. The gang was jovial, the liquor was plentiful, life was good. We were right back on those two infamous lanes, lanes three and four, which The Tortoise had so supernaturally threw his first closed game a week prior. So comfortable was I that I did not realize what was going on till about the fifth or sixth frame, and I honestly didn't start sweating till the about the eighth frame.

The Closed 242 was certainly a highlight in my bowling non-profit career. It was a hell of a lot of fun too. I'm just glad to get my first money game win.

I wonder what's next in store.