another one

New item: Ingemar Johansson, 76, dies.

Most of the world does not remember Ingemar, but we old guys do. He was the Swedish model who took up heavy weight boxing, started at the top and fought the then champion of the world and won.

His reign at the top was not too long, as he lost in a rematch.

About that time I was out of town working for a bit, Miriam was home with our two girls (this is before the last two were born). She was putting curtains up in our small rented house.

She wanted to use a tie back for the curtains and temporarily held one of them in place with a largish darning needle.

Then she slipped and fell into the wall, but caught herself with her right hand against the wall. She finished the job, but could not find that needle. She looked and looked, but nothing.

And, her hand was really sore. She was sure that was because she had pounded it pretty hard against the wall when she fell, but it got worse and worse. Finally, she called our local doctor who met her at his clinic a few blocks from where lived in our town of 3500 residents.

He looked it over, saw nothing, but said he would Xray it to see if there was an injury that he could not see. He took the picture and disappeared.

When he returned he was laughing.

Right there as big as life was that needle! Right inside of her hand. He had her check into the hospital and the needle was successfully removed. Apparently they gave her a general anesthetic because when she came to, just after Ingemar had defeated Floyd Patterson, she looked at her right hand and said: “Now I can beat Johansson.”

Of course I remember Ingemar.

The sad thing is that ten years ago, when he was 66 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and spent the last ten years of his life dealing with that/this horrible disease.

Of course, I never met him, but I always liked him (what was there not to like), even though I am not and was not much of a boxing fan.

Still it is sad to see a good life cut down by this horrid disease.

RIP Ingemar, another friend that I never met.