The most unbelievable thing happened to me yesterday. After lunch, one of my friends and I decided not to watch the lame movie "Santa vs. the Snowman" with the other 2 of our friends, and off we went to the nearest bowling center to "throw money down the drain (gutter)"...

After a 5-10 minutes wait for my friend to make his throw (he scored 8 for the first frame), I, ahem, scored a strike on the very first frame! I was so happy but soon dismay descended upon me. That strike have made me haughty, and eventually, I lost 2 games to my friend.

"So what now?" he asked.

"We'll rest for a while and we'll play the last game. I must win this time!" came my reply.

Now let me paint the scenario to you. A stray pin was lying in the gutter, to the left of the lane. It was a "residue" left behind after the second game. (In fact, that happened in the first game too. But I "cleared" it after [mis]throwing the ball into the gutter.) Prior starting the third game, we asked the maintenance people to remove that stray pin for us ('cos it was such an eyesore), but they said since it wouldn't affect our scores, they were not going to clear it. So we endured the stray [pin], and continued.

After his final throw, his total score was 110. My total score for the past 9 frames was only 101, and I needed a strike or spare in order to stand any chance to win.

I waited for the other 2 bowlers on both sides of our lane to make their throw (and gosh, the group to our right was so rowdy!). I made the throw and froze [elegantly, of course] to assess it. The ball rolled, pushing itself towards the very first pin in front. Good throw! It hit and after some time, one lone pin (pin 5) stood head and shoulders above the rest. Oh gosh! I better not miss in my next throw!

I was very nervous 'cos if I didn't hit that stubborn pin, I would lose 3 games [consecutively] to my friend. I can do it! And with that in mind, I made my second throw. However, those thoughts had affected me: no sooner after the ball left my hand, I could see it rolling towards the left gutter, diminishing the hope of ever hitting that pin with each passing moment. Oh, I've lost again! Devastated, I turned around and saw my friend smiling.

My friend's smile of victory dissipated suddenly and he exclaimed "That's CHEATING! It's unfair!" Bewildered, I turned around (again) and saw the stubborn pin missing. Huh? Then I noticed the stray pin was also missing! "What happened?"

"That's CHEATING! It's not fair! The throw you've just made: it hit the stray pin in the gutter rebounded and hit the standing pin!"

That's unbelievable! Never in my life have I experienced such an encounter/miracle! I couldn't believe my ears (and eyes!) and at once I turned my eyes to the scoring monitor. Spare. The scoring system registered a spare!

In the end, I won my friend by 4 pins [only] in the last game. I was still thrilled by the marginal victory 'cos of the incredibly fortunate turn of event!

No wonder I love bowling.... and I'll love this game for the rest of my life.... :)