I have been a fan of boxing since I watched Cassius Clay who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 64. I wavered a bit when he was refered to as a draft dodger, but to each his own. I enjoyed watching him prance around and enjoyed the banter between him and Howard Cosell whom Paw Paw couldn’t stand and considered Cosell as a has been laywer that made up his own words.

There have been a lot of great boxers since Ali, but as far as I’m concerned none better. The biggest money making fight in history however was the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Oscar De La Hoya in 07 and now it looks like there will be a rematch in September at the MGM unless the venue is changed. They say that the winner has the advantage in a rematch, but you never know there could be an upset. I did enjoy Mayweather on Dancing With The Stars because that’s one of my favorite shows.

I don’t think this fight will generate as much cash as the last, but if they promote it right I guess it could. So the big question is, Is Mayweather retired or not? Was this just hype to build up the next big fight or not? How can they already be hyping ticket sales if they aren’t really going to do this thing. I think they will have the rematch and I think De La Hoya will win even though he will have been without a match for 16 months or somewhere around there.

I was just looking at the prices for the Mayweather/De La Hoya tickets and realized there is no way I can afford them even though they are quoted as being cheaper and better seats than if you purchased through the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Oscar De La Hoya tickets box office, I still couldn’t swing it even though we all know you will see some of the biggest celebrities that can and will be there.

Well, for those of us that are poor there will be PPV and there are always parties surrounding these events that will make it convenient to view even if it’s not like being right there. It’s still fun so long as the fight lasts longer than 1 round like some of Mike Tysons’. Now that would have really ticked me off if I had paid all that money for some of his fights unless it was the one he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off in 97.

I don’t know if every family has one, but my family certainly does. I’m not referring to the monster yet, however I am talking about an older cousin who thought the world owed him something. I remember BJ as a funny grown up young man that liked to play the guitar and sing and was always smiling and I was a lot younger so I didn’t know all the stuff he had his fingers dipped in.

Seems BJ was a crook and spent a lot of time in and out of jail before he moved to California and then he was a Mafia wannabe, but of course he wasn’t Italian, but it still didn’t stop him from trying. Apparently he was pretty stupid because he spent some time in Folsom and some of those other prisons that I can’t remember the names of.

I will say one thing he was a survivor right up till his death and that was maybe 10 years ago and surprisingly it wasn’t from being in prison or getting shot or something. He had to have a liver transplant and lived quite a few years before complications set in. Of course if he hadn’t started drinking again he might have lived longer, see I told you he was stupid.

Okay back to the monster part now. About 25 years ago or somewhere around there I was living in Reno and my brother sent me word that BJ was in the California Men’s Colony or CMC and would really like a visit from family so since I was the only one out there that meant me. So he put me on his list and I had no idea what to expect. Of course I was sent a list of do’s and dont’s, but I wasn’t really prepared.

I think I took the bus, but as much as I’ve driven all over the country I can’t be clear on that point. I do remember the coastline was beautiful and being nervous about this adventure. Thinking back it was the bus because there were other people going to visit inmates and I remember them telling me about things to expect and where to get the shuttle to go to CMC.

Early next morning I was up on time and very nervous waiting for the shuttle and cussing myself out for saying I would come and what a rotten way to spend my vacation and I certainly hoped he appreciated this visit. When the shuttle came everyone piled on and off we went. They pulled up outside the prison and we were taken into a house called “Friends On The Outside.”

I found out that we had to take all of our street clothes off and change into clothes that they kept there for people on the “Outside” boy you talk about humiliating. I was really cussing myself by now and thinking I was as stupid as him for even coming, but then I thought about my Mama and she would have appreciated this visit I was putting myself out for if she were still alive.

Any personal belongings had to be in a plastic zipper bag so everything could be seen. We were then ushered through the gates and up to the prison and through the detectors or whatever they had and put into the huge waiting area where tables were and machines for refreshments and everyone waited for whoever it was they were there to see. I wasn’t sure if I would recognise BJ after all this time, but I did.

This is getting a bit long and there’s lots more so I will continue this tomorrow and tell you which monster I actually saw up close and I was totally disgusted. Read more about the real live monster.

I spent the weekend riding my scooter and checking out all the local yard sales. I found lots of infant clothes and most of them look brand new. I’m quite sure if I had bought all that stuff new it would have cost between 300. and 400. dollars and I got it all for 50 bucks. I spent last night washing everything even though it was already clean and I’m sure my daughter-in-law will wash it again when I take it to Kentucky in August.

I of course asked my son first before I went looking because some people are funny when it comes to second hand clothes for their brand new baby, but I’m frugal and I love finding a bargain and I guess my Son is more like me than I knew. I personally love thrift stores, you can find all kinds of great deals. I love second hand clothes and it matters not to me that they aren’t brand spanking new. I wont buy someone else’s shoes or underwear though.

Yesterday Bill’s Son took us for a biker breakfast in Lebanon for Father’s Day. I bet there was at least 1,000 bikes there or more and it benefited the fire company. It was $10. per adult all you can eat and believe me there were lots of adults. So I’m quite sure they made a bundle not to much all the extra donations. Both Bill and I were queasy so I felt bad that we didn’t eat 20.00’s worth, but it was for a good cause.

For Bill the best part was getting to ride with his Son again. Since the birth of his 2 Grandbabies his Son doesn’t ride much any more and Bill really misses that, so that was a great Father’s Day present for him. It was a really nice ride and I got to see a lot of new scenery because we don’t normally travel that route. It was chilly so we got to wear our new Harley jackets down, of course we didn’t need them coming back.

When we got home I decided I wanted more practise on my scooter in traffic and Bill let me pick the route, boy was that dumb not him, ME. I decided I wanted to try going to Red Lion and boy was that a mistake, all the hills and that little scooter was straining so hard, but I had to pull over several times because I was too slow so cars could go around me. I now realize that this scooter is only good for getting around town and it’s great for that.

I have decided to look for a Honda Rebel because it’s small and Bill swears up and down that he can teach me to shift gears. I have never been very coordinated so I have my doubts, but at least now I’m willing to try learning because I want more power and bigger wheels than the 10 inch on the scooter. I found out yesterday that with the small wheel base that it’s difficult to maneuver around curbs and take turns correctly and forget about stopping in gravels.

I am very grateful that I made it back all in one piece without wrecking and hurting myself or someone else. I will stick to flat roads and low speed limits until I get something with better speed and manageability. At least I got a lot more confidence even if my nerves were bad the rest of the night. At least I now know what I can and can’t do with this little scooter. If we find a good deal on a Rebel we will probably keep the scooter because Bill likes it and it’s great on gas.