Nathan's Famous and Bowling Strikes

AS GOOD AS I REMEMBERED.

Hot Dog!  It's my favorite food group.  When Jerry and I used to have barbecues, I would eat six or seven hot dogs.  But, my all-time favorite hot dogs come from the original Nathan's in Coney Island.  So, I was very happy when my brother Chuck arrived this morning and said he wanted to go to Nathan's for lunch.  Chuck also arrived with his bowling ball because he said he wanted a rematch with Jerry, who beat him the last time they bowled together.

CHUCK AT NATHAN'S.  THERE'S ROOM FOR TWO IN HIS DOWN JACKET.

The three of us headed over to Nathan's for an early lunch and I was not disappointed.  We each had two hot dogs, humongous drinks, and three large orders of "The world's best crinkle-cut fries!"

THEY USED TO BE SERVED IN A PAPER CONE.  BUT THEY TASTE JUST AS GOOD NOW.

My drink was Nathan's orange-ade, which was as sweet as I remembered, although the color was a bit more orange than it was when my sister Dale called it "sea water."  I ordered it not because I really like it but because it reminds me of all the times Dale and I walked over to Nathan's when we were kids.  We would have hot dogs and fries (which she would smother in ketchup) and then she would have a cup of "sea water" while I would have grape.  The sweetness and huge size of the drink this time nearly put me over the edge. But it was worth it for the sweet memories of Dale.

THE DOORS OPEN WIDE IN SUMMER, BUT THE SEATING INSIDE WAS WARM AND COZY.

CONEY ISLAND SUBWAY STATION, DIAGONALLY ACROSS NEPTUNE AVENUE FROM NATHAN'S.
RENOVATED SINCE MY MOTHER, HARRIET, AND THEIR SAILORS WERE THERE.

After lunch, we drove over to Shell Lanes to bowl.  I used to bowl at Shell when I was a kid.  My mother always made me tow little brother Chucky along with my friends and me.  He was 6 or 7 years old at the time and we'd let him push the lightest ball down the lane between games.  One time, the ball only made it half way down at it's creeping pace before coming to a dead stop.  My friends and I commenced to roll other balls to knock Chucky's all the way down.  We were successful, but the manager saw what we were doing and made us turn in our rented bowling shoes and go home.

CHUCK, READY TO BOWL.

Now, it's completely automated, so it's impossible to bowl extra frames.  They've also installed retractable bumpers so kids can play and never have to worry about their balls rolling into the gutters (which earns a score of zero).

CHUCK, AFTER HIS FIRST STRIKE OF THE DAY.  VERY PLEASED WITH HIMSELF.

In addition, there are kids' balls that are much lighter.  AND they even have removable tracks so very little children can push a ball down a metal slope.  Out of the 16 lanes on our side of the building, we were one of only two not using bumpers.  I was very impressed with our maturity.  I was not, however, very impressed with our bowling — except for Chucky's, since he slaughtered Jerry.  He only gloated momentarily.  I didn't gloat at all when my second game was the high score of the day. I also didn't mention that fact to Chucky.  He was too busy not gloating about beating Jerry.

CHUCK WANTED TO BE SURE I GOT A SHOT OF WHAT LANE 6
LOOKED LIKE AFTER HE KNOCKED DOWN ALL THE PINS — HIS SECOND STRIKE OF THE DAY.