Freelance journalist and dirty hippie burner.

I read news so you don’t have to (but you still should).

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Aquileo | cake
Cake day: June 6th, 2023

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  • Many, many moons ago (but firmly in this century), Fred Meyer regularly had coupons in their circular on Banquet pot pies, three for $1, limit 6. Six pot pies, $2.

    Now, each of these pot pies had, on the packaging, a coupon for a free game of bowling. Usual restrictions applied; shoe rental not included and limit two free games per person. Neither my girlfriend nor I had been bowling in years, and shoe rentals were like $1.50, so this seemed like a great way to go out on occasion while she enjoyed cheap pot pies at home (I have never been a fan of pot pies; closest you’ll get me is a quiche).

    We went out, drank some beers and had a fucking cheap afternoon of entertainment. There was no way either of us had the stamina for more than two pathetic games of hurling a heavy sphere, so we called it good.

    In time, this turned into a weekly thing, and it happened there was a closer alley that took the coupons as well. Well, one thing (and a birthday) led to another, and soon enough, I had my own ball and shoes, and we were looking at signing up for a league for fall. But we didn’t have a team of four.

    That summer at the apartment complex was fun. I had one of those full-size Weber grills, and after grilling a couple of times in our “front yard,” we decided the courtyard made more sense. There were nine total units, and we knew most of the neighbours, at least in passing. Grilling caught their attention, and a few days in, another couple brings out a cooler and joins us, which turned into me lighting some coals every evening and people bringing out whatever they wanted to throw on.

    So, we’re waiting on burgers and a tri-tip one evening when we mention the bowling thing. Turns out, they were also lapsed bowlers, so they asked if we could all still sign up. And we did have a couple of weeks, so that September, we started league. It was apparent from the standing from the outset that we were playing against (is it really “against” if you cheer for the team you’re playing?) far better bowlers than we were.

    Lots of gutter balls, lots of bad jokes, lots of beer. And over the course of the season, we played each other team twice. By the second go, we knew which ones we’d had fun with and which ones thought their scores needed to be on a TPS cover sheet. And there may have been a bit of gossip between teams.

    Show me where, in 2026, such a course of events can happen. This was only 20 years ago. I think league dues were $16 a week for each of us, and bowling league meant we could both bowl three games on Sunday mornings for $3.75, plus, there were cash prizes at the end of league.

    In terms of dollars per hour of entertainment and expansion of weak ties, it was an excellent value.