BOWLING OFFERS CAREGIVER TIME WITHOUT WORRY.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

When Cleta Hamilton stands in a bowling alley, ball in hand, staring at the pins, she forgets her troubles.

Her fruit trees need attention, her church group could use her attendance, and her right hand is swollen from a fall in April. But most of her waking hours are spent caring for her husband, Bud, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.

She has been assisting Bud for 15 years, nearly a third of her married life (her 46th anniversary is next month). Bowling has become her primary source of exercise and socialization.

``It's all she has,'' said her daughter, Judy Paul, who bowls with her. ``(Bud) has good days and bad days. She takes just about everything. She gets out of the house to have fun. She doesn't have to cook. We munch around.''

Hamilton, 68, also bowls well. The Saugus resident carries a team-best 160 average in her Tuesday night Funtastics league at Valencia Lanes and even bowled a 290 two years ago. She also bowls Friday mornings and Sunday evenings at Santa Clarita Lanes.

She isn't a power bowler, so she doesn't get many strikes. Yet she knows how to pick up a spare and receives high-fives for her efforts.

``There are a lot of nice people to bowl with,'' she said.

Her husband sits close by, and Hamilton occasionally checks on him, usually putting her ear close to his mouth because he has difficulty talking.

For the most part, though, these are her times to enjoy and visit. She usually talks to teammate Brenda Prosser about mutual friends and restaurants to try, talks to her daughter about everything, watches the sporting event being shown on the television screen (especially if it's a Lakers game), cheers her teammates for their good shots and offers high-fives.

``You'd never know how hard it is for her,'' Prosser said. ``Like today. She said, `He was really bad last night,' and that was it. You'd never know she has this. She's so vital and so much fun to bowl with.''

Hamilton rarely looks at her score and instead considers every frame as if it were a separate event. This philosophy helped her bowl 290, despite being tired from having bowled five previous games that night.

After starting with a spare, Hamilton rolled 11 straight strikes but wasn't aware of her accomplishment until her daughter pointed it out.

``I was surprised I didn't get all aflutter like I thought I would,'' she said. ``We bowl for fun, and it's a good thing we bowl for fun because we're not doing too well.''

Her team, Thorn & Roses, is 13th out of 16 teams. Hamilton has been on league champions and cellar dwellers, but it's the bowling that matters.

The alley is the one place she can't be touched by life's problems.

``I enjoy it. And it's a diversion,'' she said.