Like my contemporary's, I, have some fairly stodgy opinions. And I, like my peers, count myself patient when each offers up his or her strongly felt opinion that differs with my own. At least I have not been unfriended a lot yet. What I can do however, is appreciate the humor of the event each time I spew out a loaded opinion. It's as if someone farted at the Dinner table. The silence is deafening just before the Crickets start chirping. Anywhoo
Recent comments and events involving lifelong friends have given me pause for reflection. A lot of reflection. Like Salmon, when the kid's are grown, we consider it our time, but nature deems it something else. Like "mission accomplished" biologically speaking. Then it's just luck of the DNA draw. Well we are just biological alarm clocks after all. But I have a given bit of curiosity and wonder about the trip to "here". The events, people and places I have attempted to go over about my life with my own somewhat dim mind and it's a little tough to specifically name the actors that I feel live up to that precise expectation. Obviously there are the majors. Getting married, birth of my children; career etc. Also one has to figure in the influence one's family had as well. The town he/she grew up in, but now I am getting even more minute. From time to time I think I'll talk about it here.
I am not even sure that this qualifies but while taking a walk to freshen my mind tonight, and thinking about this, these memories kept rising to the surface. They also came with a smile so I suspect other's might enjoy the tale so I will relate it here on my little piece of the Internet. I guess in my youth I was a rumble tumble enough kind of kid but I didn't really have anything that put me above the average or less average in my mind. (And in keeping with the tome of this little diddy, I have to mention names of folks.) I wasn't, if I have to admit it all that good at the conventional sports in high school so no glory there. Grades were ahem. Wasn't all that social and I needed a win so to speak. But one thing that kind of rose to the surface for me was Boxing. I found that I had a little bit of knack for the sweet sport. See myself and several friends got involved with a Boxing Club in Twin Falls, Idaho when we were, oh 15 or so. Actually a pretty good sport for the lot of us given the number of well, other rough and tumble guys that lived in that little town. K, I'm not mentioning names because they are probably not assholes any more and maybe it was a perspective thing anyway. But the club was Probably run by one of the best Boxing coaches in the state and at the time boasted alumni that had been serious olympic hopefuls and national ranked type guys. In the Seventies, Boxing was the shitz. Not like how it is perceived now. And even the Amateurs. Who doesn't recall Greg Page and Teofilo Stephenson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Ron Lyle in the mid seventies. Anyway, myself, Glenn Murray, Mike Stoddard and this really tough Hispanic guy, Jr. were the serious guys who spent alot of time in that gym getting some amazing coaching while getting to spar, and coming out alive, with those national standout guys I was talking about. We also had the added bonus of getting to knock the crap out of each other several times a year. And as well, the outcome was expected. We each had a few fights, lost interest but the lessons learned.... well, just kidding. We survived. Stayed out of jail more or less most of us, but yeah, we also learned to throw a few punches correctly as well as take a few. Which I might add came in fairly handy growing up in a town with, you know those "guys".
I Didn't think much more about it until a couple of years later while living at the Dorm at Boise State University, I met this tall, kind of angular guy, Matt Croner who looked like a basketball player more than a boxer. Well, thats cuz he was a basketball player. A very thoughtful, insightful kind of guy with an amazing sense of humor. We kind of struck a friendship right away. But our conversation eventually got around to boxing. Of course I had to brag. And when I mentioned that I had dabbled, his face lit up and before you know it, Boxing gloves appeared and we were squared off in the community room of that dormitory floor. My expectations given the hundreds of rounds that I had sparred with all those guys that I was going to have to be careful not to hurt him. You see I considered myself top dog in this sport, well, except a couple times when I got whacked pretty good by Glenn. And the several times my mouth piece had been knocked out by Mike and Jr. But anyway. His expectations were, I can only think because I had no idea of his history. I didn't know that his father had been a ranked pro in the "olden days" and that Matt and his brother had grown up fighting since like, One. And frankly, after getting to know Matt, I think his expectations were after our conversation, well he was gonna make something hurt a little bit just to pop my balloon a little. And he did. I tried to outsmart him by leading with my face, but nosir, he didn't fall for it and popped right away at it. But the real WTF moment came when he, in the middle of an exchange turned his head. Aha my turn I thought, a split second before I got whacked on the side of the head. Really? who throws a punch behind their back? A damn basketball player that's who.
Anyway over the next couple of years my interest was rekindled and I "kind of" got back in the gym. Motivated by following Matt's exploits in the sport. Matt was the kind of guy that he would buy a ticket to watch some Amateur fights. Somebody wouldn't show up and Matt would get invited to fight. And with little forethought or trepidation, hopped right up if he had brought his trunks or somebody else had some to spare. I wonder now if he got reimbursed. Anyway, little did I know that he had become the main sparring partner to a guy by the name of Joe keene. And one day I was invited to go a round or two with Joe. I knew little of him other than he was good but on this occasion my turn came right after Matt had gone a few rounds with Joe. Matt explained a few things to me how I might survive the round as my turn came. But I wasn't paying attention apparently. I remember being troubled by the blood all over Matt's mouth piece. So anyway, I didn't survive the round. I actually got one in early though. Dropped a right "boom" , and smugly asked this guy with over a hundred fights and several titles "if he was "all right?" And that folks, is when I learned what they meant by "protect yourself at all times". Okay, I didn't learn it for several minutes until the oxygen returned to my brain and I stopped closely studying my shoelaces. Joe was gracious enough to let me go another round after I recovered. I basically let him pound away at my face because, Damn I couldn't take another body shot like that.
A longer story shorter, during this period of my life, I kind of followed Matt into this sport and got the wins that I had shorted myself because of his help. I actually quit smoking for ever the most brief period of time and won the state Golden Gloves in the late seventies. His wife Janet made me a robe that I own to this day. But it wasn't on my own and never would have happened had I not met Matt during those years. I find some of my values influenced even today by our friendship.. Matt later on went on to some could say considerable success family and business. Training other young fighters and even becoming a Mayor for a period. And our contact gradually dwindled. Like I say, a man of integrity and honesty, but some might say a bit underhanded in the ring. "Damn Basketball player". Borrowed the Pic from your FB. Hope you don't mind bud. And by the way, Thanks.
Johnny Cash........
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