On the last game the focus was not so much on the score bit the finishing stroke. When bowlers drop the ball they give it a last little flick to give the ball its spin, and then follow through, dropping the ball and the arm follows through, coming up like a handshake. When a professional or just good bowler does it well it looks easy.
This is where attention to detail would pay off. Keeping the wrist in the perfect position during the back swing and releasing with the finishing touches would produce the perfect stroke. It was doubtful that in the little amount of time he had been bowling that he would ever become a master of that task. No, for him it was just to fill the void of time, it would remain a game.
He had made a similar decision in regard to music. Playing a guitar seemed to ruin the mystic appeal of music. He did not want to break it down and figure it out because it was more enjoyable to be the listener. Maybe in the next life he would take music from a pleasurable experience to a tedious task. Bowling was fun but it was just a temporary obsession for Alex. He could not focus on the task of bowling, his mind wandered away. It was good this was the last game some wannabe gangsters had taken a lane next to theirs.
Alex sized them up just in case his buddy, who took life a little more serious, found something he didn't like about them. Things could get out of hand in a hurry. Luckily he was having a good game and didn't take too much notice. Alex never understood gangs in rural areas. If three or four of them worked at McDonald's instead and started an investment group they would have way more money without the risk of getting raped in prison.
He wondered how the term gangster was now being applied to a group of kids playing dress up and writing their gang names in public bathrooms. Lil such and such. On the other hand, someone had to keep the everyone-gets-a-trophy Uber generation honest. We can't all live in safety bubbles. Finishing touches have always been important to Alex. It was like dragging fingers down a chalkboard, watching someone take short cuts at the end. In the Cannabis world the finishing process is the most important part. This was often the difference between really good and just average. If someone is going to waste 3 to 6 months of their life growing a plant they might as well spend a little extra time curing the product correctly.
A proper cure is achieved by removing all of the leaves without crystals from the plant. They can produce a hay like smell from the chlorophyll in the bigger leaves. Those leaves are giving off their final energy to convert plant proteins into sugars. In the case of Cannabis those sticky crystals covering the buds. In order to make a plant taste as good as it smells it requires a cure. After the leaves without crystals are removed the plants are chopped at the base and hung upside down in a dark room. Not on its side on a screen or in a paper bag.
Flowers and other herbs can be cured in the same way. It is good to note if a flower such as a rose in hung upside down in a dark room it will be preserved. If it is cured other ways it basically rots. In order for cannabis to taste correctly the best cure is at 40% humidity until most of the moisture is gone and then the humidity can be up to 50%. Alex liked to cure for 56 days another two months beyond harvest. This was the right amount of time to let the plants cure through oxidation. Basically the acidity is being cured out. Things like THCA become THC. The A just means acid.
All cannibinoids oxidize form an acidic version. This effects terpins or the flavor profile. Terpins often effect how cannabis effects a person. For example a lemon flavor is a terpin called Liminol and the effects are often a clear more energetic high. Something with a berry flavor or floral flavor will more likely make a person sleepy. To get something to full flavor requires the correct amount of oxidation and maybe different depending on temperature and humidity. The preferred temperature for curing is about 55° F to 60° F as long as the humidity is below 40%. A longer slower cure will make the bud have a sticky and pliable feel. Drying to fast will cause the buds to go bone dry and burn up to fast. They call the good stuff sticky icky for a reason. After the 56 day cure the bud was put into air tight containers and checked on. It might require a little burping sealed containers if it tries to moisten up.
Maybe Alex would never become the best bowler but it was because it was not his goal to be the best bowler. Dan and Jeff sat talking about their old friend Alex and what he had told them about his methods. Who knows where he went. He had left the bowling alley that day and must have decided to move. He always wanted to dissappear and start fresh somewhere else. Who knows he could just as easily drift back in. Dan and Jeff finished their burgers and got ready for league play.