Here’s a story that will either make you feel wonder at the power of the human spirit, or terrible about yourself because you are fat and lazy and can’t accomplish anything with a working everything: 48-year old George Holscher of Chesapeake, Virginia, bowled a perfect game.
The rub: He’s been paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound since he was 25.
… when he rolled his perfect game Nov. 26, he became the second person ever to bowl 300 from a wheelchair.
“I know I said I can’t feel my knees, but let me tell you, they were weak,” Holscher said of how he felt after bowling a 300.
“When you’re on a streak like that, the whole house gets quiet,” Holscher said. “Everyone else stops bowling. It gets tense.” (via UPI.com)
This story is particularly inspiring to me, because I can’t reliably get the ball to the pins without Cosmic Bowling bumpers. I think my favorite part of the story are the anecdotes that different reporters have gotten, including this amazing one from The Virginian-Pilot about how he needs a special chair to keep from tipping over, and about how he bought his magical ball at a yard sale.
Two days later, Holscher returned to the lanes to demonstrate his technique. His bowling chair is a customized version of his everyday one – heavier, with sturdier wheel locks, extra seat support and a bolted-on ball stand. Resting on the stand: a dark blue, 14-pounder bought at a yard sale for $20.
Holscher polishes it lovingly with a small towel: “I’ve got some that cost $200 or $300, but this is the one that did it.”
George Holscher could say he has bowling fairies sitting on his shoulders when he bowls and I’d believe him. If you’ve never bowled a perfect game, hit up your neighbor’s garage and give George’s method a try. If ‘Parks And Recreation’ has taught us nothing else, it’s that unconventional bowling styles can work.
[h/t to Bob’s Blitz]
