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A series of economic data supported a solid economy, quelling fears that perhaps the Federal Reserve is cutting rates aggressively because of the economy slowing. Weekly jobless claims fell more than expected, pointing to a steady labor market. Durable goods orders for August were unchanged versus economists’ expectations for a decline. And the final reading of second-quarter GDP was unrevised at a strong 3%.

Both the S&P 500
S&P 500 and the Dow retreated from their records to close lower on Wednesday. The broad market benchmark lost 0.2%, while the blue-chip average sank 0.7%. Both indexes had hit fresh all-time highs earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend by inching up.


Relative to a LOT of economic predictions a year ago, the US economy is holding up pretty well.  So far.

Averages are up a bit today, everything is rosey now.

Im curious about the future of bowling alleys.  You cannot get a lane on weekend evenings because "leagues", but nobody bowling in leagues is under 60.  Seems very short sighted.  I think Ive gone bowling maybe twice since graduating law school in 2009, and I used to bowl a ton, I was in a league in middle school.  They are getting their consistent money now, but they are killing their future.  I don't think Ive ever taken my kids bowling bc the only open lane times are like 11am on a Tuesday

I highly recommend this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Community/dp/1982130849/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Zl-CMnNQ7B98QIx2G7PjQWYPdj5bVwbZ04NvaNYroJvhFm-DeIdhyqotabIqLEJlZvoPyZdsOuEuW0gJ0xCwRW8YZULc4UmcggxePi2gb0EYgN6cC8pQclqZlfySQshpQRd_HQnPy9DHyjz5snXnO-Bc83mlEB4l32co6974-3l-G5sauTn663rRYoov_9RjcTCv86-A5VA3OEGHkTquMZJ6JShjfQWRcybb3Jt0yKATmYJw2CdJTa_knP6LFGA25P6I4R1bhZai8ROQ1E9h4IzN2J8t8QugU6S7H32hW-c.bEALVbDdBn9_IQQm033b_xHJPGZQezeGGTBsX7qr6hk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=695438568711&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9015378&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=10506942889194605092--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10506942889194605092&hvtargid=kwd-932065543081&hydadcr=7668_13469272&keywords=amazon+bowling+alone&qid=1727358502&sr=8-1

Despite the title being "Bowling Alone", it isn't mostly about bowling and bowling alleys but rather the overall collapse of community involvement in America.  

On the subject of Bowling specifically he noted something that you referenced and I've also noticed.  I once found a bowling shirt in my dad's closet and asked him about it.  He said that he had been in a bowling league, this was probably the early 1970's.  I found that curious because I'd only seen my dad bowl maybe once or twice and he wasn't particularly good at it.  To my (born in 1975) eyes, someone in a bowling league was a VERY good bowler.  My dad told me that it was more of a social club and now that I'm older I realize that it was basically a drinking club with a bowling problem.  

Here is the thing:
Back in the 1970's there were a LOT of social bowling leagues like the one my dad was in with members like my dad, in his 30's at the time.  Today almost anyone you meet who is in a bowling league is either:

• A fanatical bowler, like borderline PBA level, a VERY good bowler, or
• OLD.  Your "nobody bowling in leagues is under 60" is probably extremely charitable, I'd put it more like 70-75.  

If you owned a bowling alley, what would you do?  I think it is a tough question.  I see your point, by packing the place with leagues on weekends they freeze out potential new customers who obviously aren't going to show up at 11am on a Tuesday but the leagues have the leverage to say "If you won't take us on Friday/Saturday night, we'll go somewhere else."  I would guess that most bowling alley owners figure they'll make whatever they can on the leagues for now and if/when that dries up they'll either try to make a go of it some other way or remodel into something else.  

The last true bowling alley in Austin is closing in a year.  A couple of suburbs still have them but they'll eventually die, too.

However, there are several big multi-functional entertainment centers, that have bowling lanes within them.  And pool tables.  And arcades.  And laser tag.  And karaoke rooms.  Sort of like a really big Dave and Buster's with bowling lanes.

And then there are some smaller more intimate social clubs that also have bowling lanes, pool tables, darts, etc.  Typically pretty swanky and very expensive.

It makes sense that a diversified entertainment experience might be a more effective use of space, than a single dedicated large bowling alley.  But it's still sad to see them go.

See?  Markets going down.  We're DOOMED!!!!!!!

The beauty is, there’s always something to be worried by when you want to be worried. 

FWIW:
My interest in Bowling Alone was the Service Club angle.  A few years ago I served as President of my local Kiwanis Club.  Clubs like these provide a lot of services to the Community.  For just a few examples, my local club:

• We spend about $10k/yr on a "Christmas Shopping Project" where we take disadvantaged local students shopping in early December for coats, boots, clothes, etc.  
• We do annual "Easter Bunny Visits" where we take the "Easter Bunny" around and drop of goodie bags to kids.  
• We maintain a couple playgrounds in the community.  
• We host 50th anniversary couples at an annual Golden Wedding Anniversary Luncheon.  
• Etc.  

I've got a long history with the Club because my dad joined in 1979 and took me along to meetings when I was out of School for the summer from then forward.  


Back in the 1970's the club's lunch meetings were hosted by the local Congregational and Catholic Churches on a rotating basis.  It was a fundraiser for the Churches.  The cooks were pretty much all stay-home moms who would get together every other week when their church was hosting, cook lunch, socialize, and make a little money for their church.  However, even in the 1970's, the kitchen crews were starting to age.  

If you back up to say the 1960's most married women didn't work outside the home.  So there were a lot of 30-something stay-home moms who had been born in the 1930's and 40-something stay-home moms who had been born in the 1920's on the Church kitchen crew.  However, as the percentage of women in the workforce exploded across the 1970's the kitchen crews basically didn't get any new members so instead of replacing older volunteers with younger volunteers as had been done for decades, the kitchen crew just started to get older as the existing volunteers stayed in place with no replacements.  

By the late 1980's the church kitchen crews basically hadn't seen a new member in a quarter-century so they had aged to the point that they simply couldn't do it anymore.  This was actually delayed by the shrinkage of the Club itself (more on that later).  In any case, sometime in maybe the late-80's or early-90's the Club switched to meeting at a local event center so the lunch was no longer supporting local churches.  I ran into one of the Kitchen Crew ladies at a bowling alley (full circle).  I told her we missed the home-cooked meals and she explained that when they stopped she was 72 and she was the youngest person in the kitchen crew.  

The Club itself:
When I started going to lunch meetings with my dad in the late 1970's the Club had about 100 people in attendance every week.  Today we are lucky if we hit 40.  At first glance that looks like a 60% drop and it is, but it is actually MUCH worse than that for two reasons:

• Kiwanis was a "men only" organization until the mid-1980's so the number of potential members doubled when that changed, and
• The community I live in had a rapidly growing population throughout the 1980's and beyond so the population has more than doubled since I first attended in the late 1970's so the number of potential members doubled again based on population.  

Members relative to potential members is actually down 90% in the last ~45 years.  That is a SHOCKING drop.  

That brings me to reading Bowling Alone.  For decades we have talked about how to grow our club.  I read Bowling Alone to get a handle on the overall situation and what I learned is that it isn't just MY local club.  Across the country Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Eagles, Masons, etc along with bowling leagues and other social and service organizations are shrinking EVERYWHERE.  

Back to my local club.  I joined in 2001 at the age of 26.  I've now been a member for 23 years and I am STILL one of the youngest members.  We do have a few younger but the bulk of the members are the same guys that were in the Club when I was in HS 30+ years ago.  They, of course, have gone from being 30-50 year old businessmen to being mostly 60-80 year old retirees.  

I honestly don't know how to fix it but it is a problem.  Kiwanis can't spend $10k/yr on shopping for disadvantaged kids if we don't have enough members to raise $10k/yr.  Maintaining playgrounds is tricky when we show up for a work day and I (49) am the youngest guy there (sometimes by 20 years).  

I suspect a lot of "traditions" of this general ilk are disappearing, aging out as it were.  One factor could be informational, I don't know of such "clubs" around me.  There is a Midtown Alliance that supports a "meet and greet neighbors" kind of thing, I went once, it was ... not my cup of tea.  Rotary Club?  I could find one, I guess, but I don't really know what they do.  And there is the Groucho comment that is pertinent.

My wife was an active member of Alliance Francais in Cincy, but she says she's not interested here.  I attended a few of their soirees, it was ... not my cup of tea.

I was in a work bowling league ages ago, it had some work advantages as well as being fun.  At night, as you note, the entire lanes were occupied with leagues, at that time mostly folks in their 30s.  I started up a wine tasting event monthly here and did about 6 of them and interest kind of faded, on my part.  I get asked to bring them back at times.  I did the same in Cincy and the thing got way out of hand, for me, I understand it's still going.

I did meet up on line with a group of CFB fans who post about everything under the sun, they are pretty fun.  Mostly.