Was it worth it?

By kiki

Was it worth it? In reflection, I asked myself that question about the boys boxing careers. I also question myself: Did I do the right thing in introducing them to the sport?. Of course, I could say that they made the choice of embarking on a boxing career, but even though Frankie and Tony told me one night (at the age of six and three) in 1964 that they wanted to get in the ring, it wouldn't be true because they were too young to make that decision on their own. So, as a Teamsters Boys Club smoker, I decided that the boys would enter the ring very young. Do I now regret it? I do.  

Why regret it if they achieved a small measure of fame and fortune? You ask. With fame and fortune, too, came a bunch of new fair-weather friends. Years later, the fame and riches are gone, and so are the new friends they made on top of the mountain. ~ I have to admit that those days when the boys were sought after for TV fights, with decent pay, no, make that really great pay for those times, were great times for us all. We've traveled the country and met some famous people. We did and saw places that, without boxing, we wouldn't have done so. But at what price? I now ask because now all they have are the memories of those famous people we met and the beautiful places we travel to, but that's only when they can remember the memories. Regret it? Yes, especially when the after-effects of long boxing careers are staring me in the face. 

The slurred speech and lost memory effects of pugilistic dementia are too high a price to pay for a fleeting moment of fame and fortune. ~ Would I do it again? I have to be honest and say that I don't know, but I probably would if we were back in 1964.