Family bonding, with rented shoes

My bowling career began and ended at Lucky Strike.

When I was growing up in Fields Corner in the 1980s, my family had a Sunday morning tradition: first God, then candlepin bowling at Lucky Strike.

Every week, my mother, brother, and I attended the 9 o'clock Mass at Saint Ambrose. I'd anxiously wait for the priest to walk down that center aisle of church. That signaled the end of Mass. Then we'd follow our fellow churchgoers out the door and walk briskly down Adams Street, so we could bowl a few strings at Lucky Strike since they offered discounts before noon.

Lucky Strike is a beige, one-story building that sits at the corner of Adams and Park streets. The exterior façade is covered with faux stone brick siding. For decades it's been a recreational oasis in a neighborhood dominated by industrial warehouses and auto body repair shops.

I could never forget Lucky Strike's distinct smell -- a powerful odor reminiscent of a chlorine swimming pool, or some chemical cleaning agent. It probably came from the aerosol spray they used to clean the countless pairs of rental bowling shoes, which were kept at a desk near the front door.

My mother would go to the front desk and pick up a few pairs of bowling shoes, a stubby pencil, and a long sheet of paper for keeping score. She'd always try to get one of our favorite lanes.

The bowling balls were nicked and chipped. The serious bowlers brought their own.

I don't remember ever using the bathroom at Lucky Strike; Ma wouldn't let us. She was wary of the teenagers who hung out at the corner and heard they did drugs in the restrooms. Rumor or not, she didn't want to take the chance. And our own bathroom was never far away -- we lived just around the corner, on Dickens Street, across from Saint Ambrose.

We never had any problems at Lucky Strike. The place had a family-friendly atmosphere, and it was filled with people we knew from the neighborhood -- kids and parents from Saint Ambrose, guys wearing shiny bowling league jackets, even teachers from Saint Ambrose School.

As the 1980s drew to a close, our trips to Lucky Strike were few and far between. When my brother and I left Saint Ambrose to attend Boston Latin School, our Sunday morning ritual ended. My bowling career was over.

Even though I was never an avid bowler, I'm glad Lucky Strike has reopened. Maybe I'll restart my bowling career there sometime soon, if just for one day.

The Quincy investment group that purchased the 67-year-old bowling alley in February reopened Lucky Strike on March 17.