Dead wood

Part of the ritual of the weekly bowling league is a 10 minute warm-up session prior to the three-game match. Normally I don't even bother with practice because it's such an ordeal to cut through the swarm of other bowlers in order to toss a ball. But this week I arrived early, so I had already selected a ball and put my shoes on before they started the lanes for practice. Once the lanes came on, I figured what the hell.

When practicing, its customary to throw one ball and move out of the way to let the person behind you throw the second ball. Or if someone has already thrown a ball and you're next, you try to complete the spare.

The first ball I threw was a strike, and I moved over to the other lane where another bowler had just thrown a ball. My ball quickly came back up through the machine, so I grabbed it and threw it at the remaining pins. Just as I released the ball, I could hear Max, one of our opponents yell, "What the hell are you doing?" And right then I saw the metal pin guard come down and my ball hit it with a loud bang, sending fallen pins out on the lane.

"Dead wood on lane 23," someone yelled.

Seems as though I threw the second ball before the machine re-racked after the first ball.

Ok, that's the last time I do that. I'm back to no warm-ups.