On his first trip back to the Jewel, after leaving in 1988, Donald Bowen visited the Zinc Fence this morning and gave us a brief flash-back on his involvement in athletics in Belize back then. According to Donald, he was the captain of a running team called “Front Runners,” and he had qualified to attend the 1988 Olympics to participate in the half- marathon along with Louis Haulze and other Belizean runners, but instead he seized an opportunity to meet his father and left for the U.S. on October 2. Even before leaving though, Donald says he helped to form a new running team, named “No Hope In Dope,” which was subsequently headed by Louis Haulze, who still runs as a veteran in marathon races held by the Amateur Athletics Association.

A building contractor by profession, who had built many houses in Belize City before moving to the States, Donald said he taught for 17 years in Chicago, after which he moved to Iowa, where he is now employed in a company that manufactures refrigerators.

Donald arrived in Belize last Tuesday, October 16, to attend the funeral of his mother, Mrs. Rosita Armstrong, which took place on Wednesday at St. Mary’s Church. He says he would like to sincerely thank all those who attended the funeral or expressed their sympathy to himself and the rest of his family.

Asked if he has any plans to return home to live, Donald said, certainly. He said he is disappointed in the lack of manufacturing industries in Belize. “We need to start making things, instead of importing everything,” he said. In fact, his parting shot in our short conversation was that, in all earnestness, on his return after securing his retirement, he will run to become Prime Minister of Belize. He thinks he can do a better job.

Our condolences to brother Donald Bowen from the sports desk on the loss of his mother, and best wishes in his future endeavors in the U.S. and back home in Belize.