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On a snowy afternoon in late February, a chorus of jubilant sounds reverberate through the wide corridors of a senior home in Oakdale.
There are echoes of women chanting Strike, strike, strike! and Whoop-whoop! seconds before they erupt in joyous applause. There are outbursts of men shouting and the clatter of bowling pins falling. But most notable of all is the sound of the laughter rising from dozens of people who, until recently, were isolated and afraid to leave their rooms out of fear of contracting the deadly coronavirus.
The source of the commotion is a spirited round of Wii bowling, a video game that allows players to mimic the action of hurling a ball down a virtual lane. Arms fly in the air as masked residents of the Oak Meadows Senior Living home take turns waving the remote control in the direction of a large television screen.