Mike Tyson and a boxing memory

I just finished reading an article about Mike Tyson in the New York Times...strange thing for me to do.l had been reading about Libya, Bahrain, Japan...all disasters on such a large scale...then Mike Tyson pops up on the screen .I began reading out of shear curiosity. Boxing has got to be one of my least favorite sports....biting someone's ear either!

There is a memory of boxing strongly encased in my brain. My first husband had a serious operation the year after we married...he was in law school and I was teaching in a day care center and working retail on the week end

His had a very long, involved surgery in the chest and was found to have Hodgkin's disease. Naturally I was in a state of shock...he was in great pain with no knowledge of his diagnosis. The hospital allowed me to stay there with him overnight, which was pretty unheard of at the time. His roommate, Paul, was in his late teens and had undergone open heart surgery.
It was the night of the Patterson-Liston  fight...my husband, as well as the doctors and nurses crowded into the room among all the machines, tubes, monitors and other equipment. They wanted to listen to the fight;I was assigned the task of finding a radio; which i did. The pre fight jabbering was beginning. I didn't think Paul should be subjected to the excitement and had the volume quite low. Just as the bell rang to begin the first round, a faint "turn it up" came from Paul's bed. The doctors nodded approval; the volume increased. Liston knocked out Patterson in a little over 2 minutes, ending the fight in the first round. It was over almost as quickly as it started.

I'm always struck by the memories of that night. Here were two young men who'd just undergone very serious and risky  surgeries; Even with successful surgeries neither had a good prognosis; Paul would live 2-3 years and my husband was expected to live 6 months to a year. (He in fact had a new form of radiation treatment and lived into his sixties) And what had they wanted? Boxing! To listen as the announcer gave a play by play...blow by blow as two men tried to knock each other unconscious...kill each other. My husband and Paul spent the day unconscious as doctors worked hours to save them...extend their lives. What do they want to do when they regain consciousness? Listen to the radio as the boxers do the opposite and try to knock each other unconscious.
Life is so very strange.

Back to Mike Tyson. He's really quite fascinating. he's become a vegan....there's no more abusing his body. He lives what he describes as a boring life...reading occupies a great  deal of his time and he enjoys discussing the books...history, biographies, books I would never have associated with  a man who bit a piece out of someone's ear. Boy has he changed! He adores his wife Kiki and it sounds as though she not only makes him, happy, she is his anchor him when his mood starts to shift...he does have dark periods. They have a girl about 3 and a baby boy...he takes the kids for walks...all very routine. Actually, I'd enjoy meeting him; he sounds fascinating. I wonder how he feels about violence and war?