ALLEY OOPS

Office workers let the good times roll—a little early.

When I was 18 in the late 1950s, I landed a job at the Bayonne Navy Base. I worked in an office building under the command of a very handsome, very serious naval captain. Building No. 82 had offices opening off a long central corridor that ran the entire length of the building. One Friday after the captain left for the day, his secretary, Joan, passed around word that she could roll a bowling ball down the entire—considerable—length of the hall.

At the specified time, all 50 of us office workers gathered to witness the stunt. We lined the hall outside our offices after posting a lookout at one end of the corridor. At the opposite end, Joan eyed the projected path; then, with a mighty heave, she let the bowling ball rip.

Just at the moment the heavy ball left her hand, our lookout screamed, “Captain’s coming back!”

In seconds, the hall was cleared of the dozens of spectators, who all scurried back to their posts.

Waiting in our offices, most of us never got to see the captain’s face when he re-entered the building. But I’ve always wondered what he thought. Was he alarmed by the sight of that ball hurtling toward him down the deserted corridor? Was he bowled over?

All we know for sure is that the captain carried the ball back to his office, where Joan sat typing. Somehow he knew the bowling ball was hers, and without a word he placed it on her desk. As he turned away, his face showed a hint of a smile. •

Joan eyed the projected path; then, with a mighty heave, she let the bowling ball rip.