In the summer of 1990, the Accident Fund was preparing to start up the fall mixed bowling league. I had lost my partner, Neal and did not anticipate bowling that year. The other couple, the Hartman's suggested I ask Chappy to bowl. I had no idea who they were talking about, but everyone else seemed to know him.
One of the women in the unit I worked with knew him from her home town of Westphalia. She spoke highly of him and said he was just a nice young man. My opinion of men in those days did not have a category for nice. Every one else knew him as he was a sales representative for a vocational rehabilitation company that came in and took them to lunch.
I never went to lunch with vendors. My boss always thought that I should as they went as a unit, but I didn't really care for the people I worked with at the time and I sure wasn't sitting down to lunch with them. I march to the beat of my own drum. Always have, always will.
My boss demanded I go to lunch one day as I was not being a "team player" by not attending these functions they attended as a unit. I informed her that I was not paid for my lunch hour and she could not make me go to lunch with anyone. She must have thought she had some power over me, as she went to human resources to see if she could make me. Unfortunately they sided with me. They didn't pay me for the lunch hour and so she couldn't force me to go. I met Webby for lunch, why would I want to go with these people!
Every one was trying to set me up and I had no desire to even be in the same room with a man, let alone date again. Chappy was coming in to take them to lunch and every one thought I should go to meet him and then ask him to bowl with us. I highly doubted he would want to drive every Sunday from Grand Rapids to Grand Ledge to bowl on a 9 PM league.
I agreed to go, but I had a root canal scheduled for that morning so eating lunch was not going to be an option. I could just go sit, please everyone and then be done with their meddling.
He came into the office and they introduced us. He had no idea there was a hidden agenda that day by many. I didn't see what the attraction was quite honestly. His eyes were too close together. I didn't like the brown suit he had one. I picked him apart in my mind while they stood there and introduced us.
We all headed out to Cheddar's for lunch and some how I was seated directly across from him. He was a salesman for cripes sake. They have to be personable to be in sales. I wasn't biting though. I ordered my usual meal, cheeseburger and ate it with a fork I had literally just had a root canal that morning and my mouth was still numb.
Chappy kept glancing over at me. I knew he was not aware of the scheme they were trying to pull here, but he had never known me to attend these lunches. He wondered why I ate my burger with a fork instead of picking it up like "normal people." I told him this was how normal people ate burgers, perhaps he just wasn't aware of it. Other than that, I didn't say another word. I really did not want to be there, but I was.
When we got back to the office everyone was ooh and aah over Chappy. Jeez, it's not like he was God or some one, but they just thought he was so funny and nice...yada, yada, yada. I wasn't buying it. He was still a man and I had no use for one.
The Hartman's insisted I call and ask him to bowl. No one wanted to bowl with the Hartman's and they wanted to bowl! I suggested they call Chappy and see if he wanted to bowl and if he did, I'd bowl, but I wasn't looking for a partner.
Damn the luck if he didn't say, YES! Are you kidding me? He's going to drive every week on Sunday to Grand Ledge, an hour to bowl at 9 PM and turn around at midnight and drive back home? No way. He was nuts! Or a psycho!
I didn't know him and I wasn't sure about bowling with him for a whole year! That is a long time and Neal had signed up to bowl as well, so I didn't know if I wanted to see him every Sunday at the alley.
I suggested we meet, the four of us and bowl before the league started. I was convinced to talk Chappy out of bowling on Sunday before he even started. My well thought out plan, failed miserably.
We met that night, all four of us and we bowled three games. The Hartman's left. Chappy and I stayed and bowled ten games. I thought my arm was going to fall off! It was late and we called it a night. We both were quick witted and funny. He was three years younger than I was.
He had grown up in Westphalia. Attended Central Michigan and had a degree in hospitality and hotel management. He had worked in hotel management opening up Red Roof Inns and managing Holiday Inns, but he grew tired of the hours. He was working with Hope Network Rehabilitation out of Grand Rapids employing injured workers who were restricted from returning to their regular jobs after an injury and was approached by a recruiter to come work for them. He didn't know a thing about rehab, but he worked five days a week, 8-5 and you couldn't beat that in his book.
We decided to meet the next Friday night and practice our bowling again. One more time before the league started. After we bowled three games we both confessed that we didn't think we could pick the ball up one more time. We were still suffering from the previous week's workout. We decided to go to dinner, at Cheddar's and then to a movie. Maybe he was a nice guy. But I had been fooled before.
The thoughts that wander through my mind. Some have suggested I write a book. I think I'll blog first
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