Bowling, The Wright Way - September 25, 2001 by Don Wright
Painful Journey

Not long ago I wrote about how dull a ride it is from Killeen, Texas to El Paso. It certainly was not a dull ride back.

When the alarm went off in my room at the Bliss Inn on September 11, I did as I always do; I turned on CNN Headline News and headed for the shower. When I came out of the bathroom I saw the image of the World Trade Center and what I believed to be a building fire. I sat on the edge of my bed and wondered how the New York fire department would battle something so high up. The news commentator said he thought a plane might have hit the tower. During his coverage he wondered if there had been some electronic glitch that would cause a plane to strike the tower on such a clear morning.

At that moment another plane appeared in the right hand corner of my television and struck the other tower. There was no doubt in my mind what had occurred.

I heard myself say, "Oh my God," and felt my eyes fill with tears. As a retired soldier who served in Vietnam and never saw that much destruction I knew what lay in store. As a law enforcement officer I witnessed the most heinous criminal act of my life.

I immediately called my co-workers and all of them were watching the terror unfold. I called home.

Suddenly, I was looking at another plane and the death and destruction at the Pentagon.

Although we tried to take care of business at Fort Bliss it was clear we needed to return to Fort Hood as soon as possible. The drive back was far more difficult than going.

It has been a while as I write this column and I have spoken to my family who live in Upstate New York and as traumatic as it has been there is a willingness and desire to show the world we might bend, but we won't break.

Many bowling leagues cancelled, while others felt the need to meet the schedule and spend time together. During Desert Storm the bowling centers in both Killeen and Fort Hood were like a support group and a place to be with friends during very difficult times. Personally, I prefer family and time alone. Bowling was the farthest thing from my mind. I knew that in a community like ours everyone had family, friends and loved ones in or around the Pentagon.

With the events in New York and at the Pentagon, and in what may lie ahead, a sporting event has little meaning. I think the National Football League and Major League Baseball felt the same way. The Professional Bowlers Association and the Professional Women's Bowling Association both cancelled events. Television programming, special events, motion picture, and radio programming and sporting events around the world were altered. Many were postponed all together.

Some time has passed now and everyone is trying to get back to some sense of normalcy. Leagues are going full strength and make up schedules are being looked at. It's probably a good thing.

America has been attacked in a way like no other. Those in the military understand that just being in the military makes us a target. We can accept that as an occupational hazard. We mourn, we regroup and we move on.

This attack was not a military target it was innocent civilians. I have always believed that if you have baggage with me you should come to me, not my family. This act was against our families, wives, husbands, children - family.

There is a saying, "Time heals all wounds." That may be true. But, it will take a long time before New Yorkers feel safe. It will take a long time for some to find closure, if ever.

My league is bowling again and when I look down the lanes at the active duty soldiers I'm very proud of them. When I look at the retirees and see the pain and anger in their faces I can relate to that, also.

We have to return to Fort Bliss one of these days and finish what we had started. You'll never hear me complain about that trip again. It can never be as painful as it was returning on September 11.

God Bless America.

See you on the lanes.