Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Body Blows, Baby

How much pain can a human withstand? How many body blows over the course of a lifetime?
It's the body blows that wear you down. Relentless.
A rhythmic pounding that punishes the kidneys, bruises the ribs, punishes the stomach muscles.
We are not talking about twelve or fifteen rounds. We are talking sixty years. More if you drink your OJ.
Of course there are plenty of left hooks to the jaw that make it through to rock you, wobble your knees and blur your eyes. But they happen only occasionally; enough to keep you off balance and confused, ultimately guarantee that you will lose the fight, but not enough to do you in immediately.
It's the body blows, baby. Day in, day out.
You do what you can but you are not Muhammed Ali.
It ain't the rope-a-dope when it's your life we are talking about.
Everybody said "Muhammed, what the hell are you doing? Absorbing all that punishment. Barely fighting back." He was letting the elasticity of the ropes absorb some of the blows, he was conditioned to take the hits, he outsmarted Foreman and when George got tired, Muhammed beat him.
Rumble In The Jungle, baby.
Life does not get tired. Life keeps coming at you with the body blows.
Insidious.
Pump you up, shoot you down.
It's probably a good thing that 103% of all Americans are out of shape. You wear down quicker that way. Imagine if you trained like Ali; you might have to endure seventy five years or more of this punishment.
Ah, what the hell. It gives you something to do.
Something to focus on. Pain keeps you sharp. Makes you move.
But as you rotate from corner to corner you continuously come face to face with new opponents.
I guess all you can do is crank out your sit ups. Cover up as best you can.
You never know. Some benevolent overlord might change the script.
I hear the bell.
Time to get up off my stool.

No comments:

Post a Comment