Nature Deficit Disorder

[H2O Man]

25. Very good.

Long ago, between fighting then training amateur and pro fighters, I served as a judge. It was AAU back then, not today's USA. My brother served as a referee a couple of times.

In between winning his first and second Golden Gloves titles, I once stopped a fight where I didn't like the way my son's legs responded to two punches. My cousin helping with corner work was furious and swearing at me. My son insisted he was fine, and that I was wrong to stop it. I later learned my boy was ahead on the cards. But that didn't matter to me. I'll note that 45 minutes after the fight, my son wasn't sure how it had ended.

My brothers and my friend Frank Barry died after getting knocked out in an amateur bout in Syracuse ..... I think it was in 1973, but am not positive without checking. On the ride home, I remember thinking, "Poor Frank." But being as ignorant as any young fighter, I never took note of my brother and I having fought in that same ring. But by the time I stopped fighting and trained fighters, I understood the very real risks. No "win" is worth serious damage.