This isn't about the powder issue, but it still has to deal with etiquette. Some dunce tried to throw one of my personal balls last night after league and just about ripped his head off. Common sense says, "Hey that's not like the other balls it probably belongs to someone." But this idiot picked it up and tried to throw it, I was livid, but I kept my cool and asked him not to throw it or touch my personal bowling balls.

The other thing is that after league all the kids come in and they have almost no semblance of bowling ediquette at all. Like the idiot above, there were people walking all over the approach, going when I was trying to take my turn. It was truely a test of patience. Regardless I got through it and was about to find a couple of things to try next week for my Sprots shot league (Yey the Chameleon).

There are idiots in all walks in life. Working in downtown Chicago, I see a lot of them. People who get off a moving escalator and just stop (seriously, where am I supposed to go when I get off if you stop?), people who have umbrellas that could shelter a 3rd World country, and people who talk on their Cell phones while in check out lines paying for things just to name a few. Not a lot you can do with these kind of people.

True enough, except snap them back into Reality Land and occasionally set them straight.

When I was at college, this would happen to me when I would go to practice. The best part of it was that the people who tried to use them could barely pick them up. I'd figure that they'd put it down when they saw that they could barely pick it up, but no. I'd actually have to stop them from going any further.

Mark

I've seen cops called to a center due to a personal ball issue. Several years ago I was subbing for a few weeks on a friend's team for. The other bowler on the team had gotten there early and placed her ball on the return, a pink/white/some other color swirl Maxim, it looked nothing like any house ball there. There was a kids birthday party about 10 lanes down. After throwing every house ball on that side of the house, and they didn't come back, a kid grabbed this ball off of the return and threw it, no one was at that pair of lanes at the time. No one in the party including the adults let the front desk know about the bowling balls not returning.

Once it was noticed missing, everyone started looking around for it. A huge argument ensued between some of the league bowlers and the adults in the party. The kid admitted to grabbing the ball, but the parents kept saying the kid didn't. Sure enough after they pulled a minimum of 30 bowling balls out of the underground, there was the Maxim. The party was then asked to leave by the center.

Our Wednesday nite league House is in a changing suburb. Changing from rural, farming, to low income, unsavory types. And, they hang out at the bowling alley after 9 pm. There have been many confrontations between the league bowlers leaving, and the vagrants coming in.

It is not uncommon for them to take someone's ball off the rack and walk away. There have been quite a few jackets missing from the coat rack. Not to mention shoes, and other things missing when these people walk enmasse through the bowlers area, looking for balls. And, they walk through in the final frames of the third game, getting ready for Cosmic Bowling to start.

The bar has no walls, the unsavory types congregate there waiting for leagues to end. They play the music loud. They yell and scream. They run around, chasing each other with pool cues. I have seen many confrontations there between bowlers and the others. Bowlers are leaving this house by the dozens.

Toward the end of the year, it became common for 2 police cars to show up with 4 officers, and sit in the lot, waiting for something to happen. They even had undercover in the bathrooms. Most common occurance is over 21 kids buying pitchers of beer for underaged drinkers.

Too bad, this used to be a good place to bowl, until a couple of years ago. I have reduced my time from 3 leagues and 2 practices per week, to just 1 league night.

Yeah, that would result in the guy having a bloody stump where his arm once was.

humm. i had a guy pick up my complete nv right in front of me. ( when i had it ) i just pointed at him and then pointed to put it back down. he just put it down and walked off. didnt even finish bowling. i have no idea why. i didnt even say anything to him. was strange though. also had a kid pick up my wife's ball and drop it. boy i wasnt happy. but i just picked it up and put it back. and they went off to play video games. but i try to ask to be put away from people but it sometimes doesnt happen. but when theres a lot of people around my ball return that anit my friends, i tend to stand by it the whole time i bowl. i pay good money for these balls, so yeah i dont like it either.

I really don't get angry save when aggression is needed for things like football. But there's just something about someone picking up my new bowling ball that I put about 150-some dollars into that really grinds my gears. I mean the lack of common sense is astounding. It's simple that ball doesn't look like the balls I've been throwing it probably special which means it belongs to someone. It's sad that people have the audasicity to steal something like a bowling ball (makes me want to hurt something). I think DD said something about a bloody stump well the equivalent for me would be decapitation with a kick (unless they're 6'6" or higher, I'm that flexible yet).

I'm just not a very tolerant person, that's all.