The ceiling is coming apart in places and there are grubby gaps along the wall now that the arcade games are gone.

The sassy lady who worked behind the counter isn't there anymore, and though no one would have guessed she'd be missed, she was remembered fondly.

It was all remembered fondly. Several people said if you stared straight ahead down the lanes, it was like you were back 20 or 30 years.

Saturday night, the Kalani High School class of 1977 gathered at their old hangout, Waialae Bowl, for one final trip down bowling memory lane. The cake on the potluck table was decorated with the words "Kalani High School Class of 1977 bids Waialae Bowl a Fond Aloha."

The classmates had their 30th reunion last summer, but when they found out that the beloved bowling alley next to Kahala Mall was going to close this month, they rallied the organizing committee. This was their place of teenage romance and rivalry, but even before that, where they came with their parents for a night of family fun.

Karen Kuioka Hironaga composed a tribute to the bowling alley that she sent to her classmates:

"My earliest memories of Waialae Bowl began when I was about 4 years old. My Dad would take me with him to his Saturday night bowling league. Entering those doors and hearing the rolling of the balls and the crashing of the pins, I felt a surge of excitement.

"This was a magical place, my own little Disneyland. ... By the third game, I usually fell asleep on the chairs, listening to the lull of the rolling balls and the crashing pins.

"My Dad always covered me with his jacket, and later, he'd carry me to the car and we would go home."

Sixty classmates showed up on Saturday night for the goodbye party. Many brought spouses and kids.

Members of the Kalani 1977 bowling team came. The senior prom king was there complaining that his bowling arm was sore.

The arrival of the undisputed "bull of the school" was highly anticipated but was delayed because he was doing laundry.

The class tita was laughing with embarrassment at stories of all her historic beefs.

Back then, it was 35 cents a game and a quarter to rent shoes.

Before McDonald's, there was a coffee shop, but during high school, the routine was to grab a bag of fries at McDonald's and sit inside the bowling alley waiting for the sassy lady to call your name for a lane.

Dot Kuba stood back and looked at her classmates. Someone's kid was sleeping on a mat on the carpet. The smart girls were still all hanging out together. Somebody snuck in beer.

"Right now I really feel like a teenager again," she said.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.