Overcoming an obstacle is possible and one bowling league in Syracuse truly shows it. The “Salt City Blind Bowlers” may not have their sight, but that doesn’t stop them from having a lot of fun.
Edwin Cooney is a member, and to say he likes to bowl is an understatement.
“I love it. I’m not good at it, but I like it,” he laughed.
On Tuesday’s, you can find him at the Village Lanes of East Syracuse with other members of his unique league.
“The first time I ever bowled was New York state’s school for the blind in Batavia,” explained Ed.
Ed, the group’s president, and most of the others have been bowling in East Syracuse since 2013.
“You try to control your body, your hands,” Ed. “Sometimes when I’m frustrated, I’ll jerk the ball, and if I jerk it too much it will go in the gutter.”
Bowlers, like Bill Farewell, can also use a rail as a guide to gauge their distance from the lane. For each person, muscle memory plays a big role. Without the use of their sight, they have to rely on sound, and they also get a little bit of help from their friend John.
“They want to know what they have left, what their score is frame-by-frame,” said John.
John, like Ed, is a member of the Lions Club.
“The lions, we are the knights of the blind. We were asked to be that by Helen Keller, way back 1925 or something like that in Chicago. That’s how our mission became serving the blind,” said John.
John has his full vision and goes to Tuesday night bowling to not only be an extra set of eyes, but to be among friends.
This league may be a small group of six, but they are mighty, making sure to end the fun evening with a cold one. The Salt City Blind Bowlers meet every Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. at Village Lanes in East Syracuse.
