Any opportunity to quote George Costanza is one I’ll take. In the spirit of George, I failed miserably on my last four times out bowling. “The ball is just falling off my hand,” I kept saying. Everyone said, “You’re just off today,” or “Why don’t you move over to the left if you keep missing the head pin on the right side?”

Well, this girl knows herself and her game, so nevertheless I persisted and found a solution to the ball falling off my hand.

You see, I’m on a crusade against time to lose many, many pounds I gained over the past eight years due to a mysterious cause, possibly small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which I was treated for in late 2018. Since learning about SIBO, I’ve changed my diet to eliminate gluten, dairy, and sugar for the most part. Occasionally, I’ll have a hamburger or piece of chocolate, but my usual diet doesn’t include this damaging trio of food groups.

Thus, I’ve lost about 15 pounds so far (and counting). It’s a good thing, believe me, and something I feel pretty great about. However, my fingers have shrunk as a result. I had noticed my wedding ring falling off my left ring finger a bit, but thought nothing of it. That is, until I was bowling lousy.

Prior to the weight loss, I had been averaging 150 – 160, and suddenly my average dropped to about 120, which is … not where I should be.

So, today, I vowed to get to the bottom of my bad-bowling streak.

Dan and I visited Bowler City in Hackensack and bowled a couple games before I decided to visit the pro shop to see Tom, the owner, about my finger holes. Promptly, he placed two pieces of textured tape on the bottom of each finger hole. “I’ll give it a try and let you know how I do,” I said as I sauntered out the door, hoping very hard I’d see an improvement.

Dan was bowling his third game, so I asked him if I could throw a ball just to see if it was working out. Toss and in the pocket. I picked up nine pins, and then knocked down the ringing 10 pin that remained, for a spare.

I decided to bowl a game on my own, which went okay, but I knew I could do better. So, I purchased my fourth game, despite the distractions of a child who ran up to and danced at the line each time it was his turn.

Somehow, I only had one open frame, with eight spares and a strike in the ninth. In the tenth frame, I got a strike for my first ball, and missed a surreptitious double wood standing down there unbeknownst to me for a pickup of nine pins. My score was …

181!

What an improvement. And beyond the great score, I felt better throwing the ball. I was able to control it well and get into a rhythm with my entire motion.

So, guess who’s back baby! It’s me!