Regarding Mark Twain having bowled, think again!

In one of my favorite episodes in the Autobiography (I think! -- the story
is so vivid in my memory that I have not reread it for years), Twain and a
friend (Twichell?), while on vacation in the Adirondacks (Catskills?)
discover a derelict bowling alley in the woods.  The roof is gone, rain has
come in for years, and the bowling lane is hopelessly, ridiculously warped.
Rather than dismissing it, they seize the task and spend most of the month's
vacation mastering the curves, hills, cracks, heaves, and other quirks of
this single bowling lane, with immense enthusiasm and gratification.

This story has always inspired me to take up any challenge of skill and
concentration, whether or not anyone else in the world will ever play the
same game.

Henry Feldman