good talk

Having you people wait like begging dogs for my next offering makes me feel real important. In December there was a spate of shark attacks off the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh with people getting their arms and legs bitten off and one lady was killed, the governor of South Sinai suggested that this might be the work of the Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service, that they could have put the deadly shark in there to mess up Egyptian tourism. Why the British are making such a big deal about 2 people who've been shacking up for 7 years finally getting married is beyond me. In 1649 they beheaded Charles I, that's their tradiion. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a poor Scottish immigrant who became with Rockefeller the richest men in the world. Coming to Pennsylvania with his family in 1848 and with little education the little Scot found that he had a talent for making money. A deeply religious Presbyterian, Carnegie wrote "Wealth" or more often called "The Gospel of Wealth" in 1889 in which he stated that "No idol is more debasing than the worship of money" During his lifetime Carnegie gave away 90% of his money saying that the man who dies rich dies disgraced, that wealth should be used for the betterment of all mankind. 2 years ago I was in a Carnegie Library in San Fernando, Trinidad. Carnegie was a benefactor of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama which was headed by Booker T. Washington. He praised the high estate taxes in England and during the 1880's bought many newspapers in the British Isles in which he espoused the abolition of the monarchy. He stated that any man's reward could only be in Heaven. This thing that Warren and Bill Gates have been talking about is nothing new in fact previously there were many more good men than exist today. I had 10 thou apiece on 2 of the bowl games, I like excitement.

good talk

I've been feeling a lot better since I've been avoiding the TV Media and their turpitude and wish I had done this previously. Recently I donated $500 to the ASPCA and I expect each of you to do this as well, anyone who doesn't will be regarded by myself as being cheap. There's been some entertaining bowl games although there was a curious outcome to the Sugar Bowl. Around Christmas marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Charles "Sonny" Liston who had held the unified Heavyweight Championship from September, 1962 until February, 1964 taking it from Floyd Patterson with a lst round knockout and also knocking Patterson out in the lst round in the rematch. Born into abject poverty in Arkansas as the 24th of Tobey Liston's 25 children by 2 wives Sonny had no shoes and little to eat later saying all I ever had was a lot of brothers and sisters. He didn't know the date of his birth. Tobey would often tie Sonny down and whip him, the source of the large scars on his back. Escaping his father's brutality Sonny joined his mother in St. Louis, began armed robberies to support himself and was sentenced to the Missouri State Pentitentuary in Jefferson City at possibly "15" for a term of 8 years. Coming under the guidance of a priest ho recognized his boxing potential Sonny began his boxing career. Due to the priest's influence Sonny was paroled after only 2 years. Sonny never regarded his stay in prison as being a bad thing as he pointed out that he got 3 meals a day, many boxers began in prison benefitting from the supervised atmosphere and lights out at 10. In 1953 Sonny Liston won the National AAU even though his amateur career was less than a year. A few years later his contract was bought by the infamous Blinky Palermo and Frankie Carbo. There's been many who have imitated the "Sonny Liston Glare" which Liston (84 inch reach, fists 15 inches around) would fix on his opponent as they were receiving the referee's instruction but none have ever done nearly as well, it was said that guys would be bleeding in their corner before the lst bell. After winning the Heavyweight Championship Sonny returned in triumph to the Missouri State Penitentuary where the elated Sonny had a haircut and ate lunch with the inmates (the inmates didn't seem as cheerful probably because Sonny would be able to leave afterwards and they weren't). After losing the Heavyweight Championship and rematch to Cassius Clay Sonny moved to Las Vegas where he continued his boxing career but he never reached those heights again. Sonny began to supplement his income by dealing with very shady characters. Before Christmas, 1970 his wife Geraldine went to see relatives in St. Louis, upon her return she found Sonny dead in their house. Sonny was so ripe that it was hard to determine the cause of his death but it was widely felt that he had been done in for running afoul of the rough crowd he ran with. Like a lot of boxing fans I've been to the grave of Sonny Liston here in Las Vegas where I placed a red rose and a white rose. Sonny was known to show a very good side and was well-liked by many. Nobody knew when he was born nobody when he died, a psychologist could make much of his going by the sobriquet of "Sonny" in this most punishing of activities.