6:19 pm CDT - To feel fully American, you have to bowl now and then. I do an annual pilgrimage to the Blueberry Bowl in Deer River, Minnesota. It's 10 miles from Deer lake, 16.7 miles from Grand Rapids, and 102 miles from the Canadian border.

This afternoon the place was empty as a tomb when I stepped in with a small contingent of friends. We bowled abysmally (low score 27) for two games a piece and...