Tom Reid is the assistant director of the Student Union and the manager of Cat in the Cream. He is also a bowling instructor.

How long have you been at Oberlin?

Counting my years as a student, 28 years. I’m in my 55th consecutive semester.

You seem like a guy who loves his job.

Yeah, sometimes it’s a bit much, but I generally enjoy everything I do. It feels like going into a great restaurant, and seeing so many great dishes, and ordering them all, and they all come, but you just can’t finish them.

When did you start bowling, and why?

I started when I was 15. It struck me no pun intended- that it was the first sport I was good at. I was always the last kid picked for anything. Bowling is good for lots of different things. It’s a competitive outlet and a socialization tool. It teaches you life skills, like patience, and coping skills. It’s a great way to develop good habits and powers of the mind. Plus, you get the chance to heave something at something else without facing judicial charges.

It sounds very Zen.

Well you should talk with a guy from the Religion department for a more accurate lowdown on Zen, but bowling helps you harness the conscious mind. When I came to Oberlin College, I thought it was important for me to develop my critical thinking skills, and I did, but I realized that sometimes thinking could be the problem. See, in bowling thinking gets in the way. In bowling, and in life, we try and try to do with less effort, but we so often fail.

So what does bowling teach us?

That it’s important to be more trusting of our subconscious minds. We need to lose the baggage of all these thoughts from our conscious minds that distract us from really experiencing life.

During the summer before I came to Oberlin College, I was meditating in the woods. First I just ended up thinking about the uncomfortable log I was sitting on. Then I saw a lily pad and started thinking about that, and then just about sitting myself, sitting in the woods. At some point I stopped, and I was just there with the log and the lily pad, and I had it. We were all one. It was great. Then I started thinking how cool it was, and it was gone.

I find I tend to enjoy myself more in retrospect. When I’m having an experience, worries and thoughts just get in the way, and keep me from enjoying the moment. Bowling has provided me with the best glimpses of existing in the moment, absent distracting thoughts. That said, distracting thoughts are what have kept me from being a better bowler.

What’s it like working at the Cat?

Oh it’s great. I think the Cat is one of the best things going on at Oberlin College. It’s a completely free and open space. The Cat functions as a great laboratory. Students learn how to run shows, perform shows, manage a budget, and work with sound equipment. Plus it’s lots of fun. Most every show is free, except for the occasional fundraiser. It doesn’t cost anything to have a show there, and any student can do one. All you have to do is fill out a form for the space, and we’re booking for Spring Semester!

What’s the best show you’ve ever seen at the Cat in the Cream?

Well, my personal favorite was the Yonder Mountain String Band in the Fall of 2000. It was a big old, flat out party. We booked them again, but unfortunately it was on Sept.11, and we weren’t sure whether to have the show or not. We ended up doing it, because we were trying to get people together all over the school, and it was pretty good. It was way different from the first time though. People just sat there and watched.

I really think though that the best things at the Cat are student things. I remember one time Primitive Streak, the Sunshine Scouts and Piscapo’s Arm all did a Friday Night Live comedy show. The groups were at times competitive, but they did this together and it really established them as a community. Plus, I got to be an honorary guest in a Piscapo’s Arm skit.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen at Oberlin?

Oh, crazy’s just the norm around here. Human bowling on the ramp of Mudd. A bunch of students stood as pins in a triangle formation at the bottom of the ramp, while other students took turns running down the ramp and trying to knock down as many of the pins as possible. Crazy.

Interview conducted by Assistant News Editor Ben Newhouse.