Someone asked me why I bowl so much, and my immediate response was the lasting friendships my wife, G.G., and I make through bowling.
Back in 1970, I was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. My office was across the street from the military bowling center known as Hansa Allee, named after the street that fronted it. We Americanized it and called it "Hansa Alley." Back then, we were not so concerned with being politically correct and calling it a center.
We bowled on Friday night and had a tough team. By virtue of the fact we were the only law enforcement team in the league, everyone wanted to beat us. When you bowled El Cid, you knew you had to be on your game. We went into the league knowing we were going to have a good time and in the process bowl our very best.
The team consisted of myself, Barry Litsky, Bob Allen, John Slanina, and Al Zarrella. Slanina was a heck of a bowler; the more German beer he consumed, the better he got. A 200 average back then was something to shoot for; he had one and bowled leadoff for the team. Litsky, Allen, and I were all 165-175 average bowlers, and our anchorman Zarrella was another 200-plus average.
We bowled at 6:30 p.m. and would usually meet about five o’clock at the El Cid Lounge located in the basement of our office building. This was strictly a CID bar, and we would meet there and have a couple of beers and walk across the street for our competition, ready to take on the best, or at least the best after us. Our bright yellow and black shirts with our league championship patch from the previous year alerted everyone to our arrival—that, and Slanina’s boisterous announcement that we had arrived. Zarrella was the quiet one who worked hard to keep us in check.
We would bowl our three games, usually win, and head back to the El Cid Lounge. By now, our wives had made it to the lounge, and there would be plenty of food spread out on a long table. Country music was on the tape recorder, and we would continue to party until the wee hours of the morning.
What makes this special is that three of the five of us are still very close after nearly 30 years.
Slanina, Litsky, and I have shared Christmas cards and letters all those years. G.G. and I got to visit with John Slanina and his beautiful wife, Fran, who now live in Rapid City, South Dakota. We did it while on an ABC Tournament trip to Bismarck.
Through E-mail we manage to stay in contact, although we have lost track of Bob Allen and Al Zarrella. We have all retired from the military, and hopefully we will be able to locate Bob and Al one of these days.
Sure, we shared more than bowling, but because of bowling we shared more than work. It was a time to have fun, and it proved to be therapy on many occasions.
I always E-mail Slanina and tell him of my high scores. His health prevents him from bowling now, but I never could beat him when he was in good health.
So, when people ask me why I bowl so much, I just tell them for the lasting friendships. Nuff said.
Don Wright is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America. Visit his web site.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shortly after submitting this column, Mr. Wright was informed that Al Zarrella is a member of the NCABA Hall of Fame who currently resides in Virginia and bowls at Fort Belvoir Lanes. Within days, Mr. Wright had his first conversation in 29 years with his former teammate.