Bowling was not an activity I had ever actively pursued. In fact, I had only bowled a few times in my entire life before I took up the sport about eight years ago.

I began bowling after years of attending night school to earn my college degree. My husband had bowled for about ten years, and I often went to watch, but never really took an interest bowling myself until he suggested that now I had time to learn. My response: learn what? All you do is throw a ball at a bunch of pins and knock them all over. Boy, was I wrong.

From the moment I first put on my own bowling shoes (and didn't have to worry about someone else's stinky feet having been in them), picked up my drilled-to-fit bowling ball and threw it down the lane, I realized how much there was to learn about this sport.

I had absolutely no idea about how to hold or throw the ball, let alone the proper approach to the foul line. In the following months, I often wondered if I'd ever be able to bring all the fine points together and actually find this sport fun. And then it happened. I bowled my first 200 games.

It was four months into my newly found recreation. I was practicing with my husband at a local bowling alley, throwing my plastic ten-pound bowling ball straight up the middle of the lane. For some reason everything seemed to be falling my way. As the game progressed, my husband could see that I was dialed in. He suggested I just keep doing what I was doing and not look at my score. I learned later he was afraid I would freak out and begin making errors.

When I finished, I looked up to see a nice 234 game (300 is a perfect score). I couldn't believe it. At one point I had thrown five strikes in a row. Three in a row is referred to as a turkey. Four in a row is a four bagger. Five in a row, for me, was a miracle. That's when I knew I was hooked. And I was determined to work hard and practice to improve.

Now eight years later I look back and smile at how far I've come. I own three (not many by some people's standards) fourteen pound bowling balls each with fingertip drilling, and my average is a respectable 177. I am a member of the WIBC (Women's International Bowling Congress) and the ABC (American Bowling Congress). I bowl regularly in league and occasionally in amateur competition. And I have come to respect those with more talent than me and seek their advice on the little nuances of the game.

Ten years ago you may not have been able to convince me I would enjoy myself so much. But now I know that a turkey is a good thing and more than just a dumb bird.