Takin' the Blog for a Walk
Join Waukesha resident Brien Lee and his blog, Sir Fido, as they explore the city and report on the interesting things they find.
Email Brien at howlinblog@yahoo.com.
Saturday night, special
My confirmation group and I helped out with a Special Olympics Bowling Tournament at AMF Lanes on Northview Rd. in Waukesha Saturday. I'd never helped with this annual event before but people in our group had. They said what a great time it is and how much fun we'd have. But I really didn't expect it to be as much fun as it was.
I don't know much about bowling and nothing about tournaments. Lots of questions, spectators and participants and a little confusion. There were eight young men bowling the two lanes we were watching, and each bowler switched lanes with each frame.
Our athletes had Downs, autism and other physical or mental limitations. We noticed only one bowler had any remarks we should be aware of. The young man with autism didn't like to be touched. So what happens when he bowls a strike? Supporters not knowing his preference for contact begin hugging him, slapping high fives, etc. Nothing happened. He didn't yell or run in the other direction. It was actually good to see. The few people reading the notice knew about his dislike for touching, but everyone else treated him like any other accomplished athlete. I think he probably preferred the hugs.
The three games of bowling was faster paced than I expected and was over all too soon. The bowling was fairly good with many scores over 100. Most of the guys kept to themselves, but I did enjoy Zachary's good mood and playfulness. Medals and ribbons were awarded for our eight guys. The gold medal winner in our team? He'd never bowled before that day!
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Of course Saturday night was special too, because that's when I finally got to attend the Carroll concert I'd been looking forward to since my first visit two years ago. Christmas at Carroll was two hours of pure magic. The selections were great and performers near flawless. We were literally surrounded by music as all areas of the Shattuck Auditorium were used, the main stage, back and side balconies, floor down in front for the handbells.
After the concert there was a few minutes left to the Angel Art Crawl so I popped in to Allison Art House to see if anything was new. Had a very nice visit with John and Jeanette and tried to talk them into going to Christmas at Carroll Sunday night, but they had plans. How they can show 26 artists in one gallery without it appearing too cluttered I'll never know. Several pieces really caught my eye. I most enjoyed the natural art, especially the interesting gourds and the laminated wood bookmarks.
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