Miss-Delectable
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http://www.middletownjournal.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2005/09/05/mj0905nation.html
Don Nation’s world was silent.
And, for one of the first times in his life, that worked to his advantage.
When Nation stepped up to bowl the 10th frame at Eastern Lanes, all the spectactors and his fellow bowlers did their best to be quiet.
It didn’t matter. Nation couldn’t hear them anyway.
Nation accomplished the rarest of bowling feats last month. He rolled his first perfect game — 12 strikes, or a 300.
But Nation isn’t your typical bowler.
The 42-year-old Middletonian has been deaf since he contracted spinal meningitis when he was eight months old.
Perfect games are always special, but this one was especially so because almost the whole house was pulling for him, including his nervous parents, Alfred and Darlene.
“The next thing you know, everyone’s slapping him on the back and shaking his hand,” said Nation’s George’s Gang bowling teammate Gary Dalton of the resulting celebration. “It was a special moment around here.”
Special and different.
“There wasn’t the typical gradual buildup that you see when other bowlers come close to 300,” Darlene Nation said.
Bowlers are quick to take notice of someone on a hot streak, and word gradually spreads through the bowling center like cigarette smoke. A crowd of onlookers builds in hopes of witnessing the rare perfect game. Everyone tries to be quiet, but crowds bring about noise that can add to the pressure a bowler already feels.
“This time, I think everyone wanted to stay out of the way so they wouldn’t somehow jinx him,” she said. “I know that in the last frame, the bowlers on either side of him quietly stepped back and let him bowl without any distraction.
“If one of those guys rolls a split, that could throw Don’s game off. You don’t want to be the one who brings on any potential bad luck to a guy who’s about to roll a 300, especially someone rolling his first,” Darlene said.
Then again, the Middie pep band could’ve been blaring out ‘Hang On Sloopy,’ and Nation wouldn’t have noticed. Not so much because of his deafness, but because he said he was very focused on achieving perfection.
“I didn’t tighten up much, but maybe a little,” Don said through his mom, who served as an interpreter. “I don’t know how I did it. It was fun, though.”
And with that, Nation flashed a broad smile that’s likely his trademark on the George’s Gang team. The other team members are Steve Calendine, George Bosso, Gary Dalton and Nick Caito.
“He never had a ball that rolled out of the pocket,” said Bosso, the team’s captain. “There wasn’t ever a lucky break. Every ball was right on the money. Don rolled a smooth performance from start to finish.”
Calendine has rolled two 300s, so he knew what Nation might’ve been feeling as the frames rolled along.
“You get nervous out there, because you sense that everyone’s watching you. But Don stayed focused and confident, he never let anything throw him off his game. He did a great job,” said Calendine.
Nation rolled his first 600 series two years ago, his first 700 last season and now he’s got his first 300 in the early going of this season.
So what’s next, an 800 series?
Again Nation shrugged his shoulders and broke into a big smile. “I don’t know. Maybe!” he said. “We’ll see, I guess.”
At the same table, Nation’s dad Alfred was watching the card game the bowlers were playing between tosses on the lanes. The retired steel worker is fighting lung and hip cancer and his son’s perfect game fulfilled a wish he’d had, one that almost certainly would’ve shaken Don’s calm had he known of it.
“I told Darlene that I wanted to see Don roll a perfect game before I died,” he said.
The proud parents both broke down and cried when the final pins fell.
Don simply flashed his infectious smile.
Don Nation’s world was silent.
And, for one of the first times in his life, that worked to his advantage.
When Nation stepped up to bowl the 10th frame at Eastern Lanes, all the spectactors and his fellow bowlers did their best to be quiet.
It didn’t matter. Nation couldn’t hear them anyway.
Nation accomplished the rarest of bowling feats last month. He rolled his first perfect game — 12 strikes, or a 300.
But Nation isn’t your typical bowler.
The 42-year-old Middletonian has been deaf since he contracted spinal meningitis when he was eight months old.
Perfect games are always special, but this one was especially so because almost the whole house was pulling for him, including his nervous parents, Alfred and Darlene.
“The next thing you know, everyone’s slapping him on the back and shaking his hand,” said Nation’s George’s Gang bowling teammate Gary Dalton of the resulting celebration. “It was a special moment around here.”
Special and different.
“There wasn’t the typical gradual buildup that you see when other bowlers come close to 300,” Darlene Nation said.
Bowlers are quick to take notice of someone on a hot streak, and word gradually spreads through the bowling center like cigarette smoke. A crowd of onlookers builds in hopes of witnessing the rare perfect game. Everyone tries to be quiet, but crowds bring about noise that can add to the pressure a bowler already feels.
“This time, I think everyone wanted to stay out of the way so they wouldn’t somehow jinx him,” she said. “I know that in the last frame, the bowlers on either side of him quietly stepped back and let him bowl without any distraction.
“If one of those guys rolls a split, that could throw Don’s game off. You don’t want to be the one who brings on any potential bad luck to a guy who’s about to roll a 300, especially someone rolling his first,” Darlene said.
Then again, the Middie pep band could’ve been blaring out ‘Hang On Sloopy,’ and Nation wouldn’t have noticed. Not so much because of his deafness, but because he said he was very focused on achieving perfection.
“I didn’t tighten up much, but maybe a little,” Don said through his mom, who served as an interpreter. “I don’t know how I did it. It was fun, though.”
And with that, Nation flashed a broad smile that’s likely his trademark on the George’s Gang team. The other team members are Steve Calendine, George Bosso, Gary Dalton and Nick Caito.
“He never had a ball that rolled out of the pocket,” said Bosso, the team’s captain. “There wasn’t ever a lucky break. Every ball was right on the money. Don rolled a smooth performance from start to finish.”
Calendine has rolled two 300s, so he knew what Nation might’ve been feeling as the frames rolled along.
“You get nervous out there, because you sense that everyone’s watching you. But Don stayed focused and confident, he never let anything throw him off his game. He did a great job,” said Calendine.
Nation rolled his first 600 series two years ago, his first 700 last season and now he’s got his first 300 in the early going of this season.
So what’s next, an 800 series?
Again Nation shrugged his shoulders and broke into a big smile. “I don’t know. Maybe!” he said. “We’ll see, I guess.”
At the same table, Nation’s dad Alfred was watching the card game the bowlers were playing between tosses on the lanes. The retired steel worker is fighting lung and hip cancer and his son’s perfect game fulfilled a wish he’d had, one that almost certainly would’ve shaken Don’s calm had he known of it.
“I told Darlene that I wanted to see Don roll a perfect game before I died,” he said.
The proud parents both broke down and cried when the final pins fell.
Don simply flashed his infectious smile.