Today I discovered my son is a hustler. We took the kids bowling today, which was just supposed to be innocent fun. What it turned into was a cutthroat competition between me and a 7-year-old.
The first game should have clued me in that this kid may have untapped talent. He beat me then, too, but not by much. The bumpers were up for him and Victoria, and in my defense, I tried not to use them, while every one of his balls bounced wildly against them.
As a side note, bowling with Victoria was like that scene in Uncle Buck where he takes the little kids bowling, and Gaby Hoffman rolls the ball so slowly that it touches a pin and doesn't even knock it down. Vic used the same technique. At one point, hers actually stopped in the middle of the lane, and we had to send another ball down to knock it out of the way. Also, she managed to get 3 gutter balls even with the bumper guards raised. That takes true talent.
Anyway, after the first game, I decided to make a friendly wager with Trevor. I said he could choose where we eat lunch if he won, and I would get to choose if I won. I planned to really try this time around, because I refused to eat at McDonald's for the 3rd time this weekend. Well, imagine my dismay when he knocked down 9 pins each of the first 2 rounds. Then, the spares started followed by a couple of strikes. And, I really need to describe his technique. It was what I would call crackhead savant. He would grab the ball, run up to the lane, and throw it with all of his might all in one crazy flailing motion. I really thought he would lose a toe before it was all said and done. I should have known because he plays the Wii exactly like that where he bounces around like he's tripping on acid, and he manages to beat all of us at bowling, ping pong, golf, etc.
When it was all said and done, he had scored 117, and I had 88. 29 points, people. The kid not only beat me, he crushed me. Wesley got a huge kick out of it and still has not let me live it down.
So, the next time I need some spare cash, I'm going to hit the bowling alley and make some wagers with unsuspecting teenagers. They'll never see him coming.