Former heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson was back in the news recently. He had a couple of wins in Europe and stated he was back on the comeback trail. I feel sorry for Patterson. I remember seeing him fight some years ago when he was just 19. Because of his age he was only permitted to go three rounds, but Floyd, back then, was really something. I remember saying to my father one night as we watched him box, "there is the next worlds heavyweight champ." This he became. However, if you follow boxing you know that throughout his career Patterson never really came up against a fight. His managers made sure that his opponents were pushovers. Floyd never had a tough one until he fought Liston and tin one round it was over. I relate this little story to point out that all of us in our lives need battles. We need to rub shoulders with the great buzz saw of adversity. If we are sheltered from the wars of life by well-meaning parents, they do us no favors, for, like Patterson, we never really know what we're made of until it's too late. There is a natural instinct in parents to shelter their children from harm. When they are very young this is wise, but as soon as they can, let them stand on their own two feet and fight their own battles. You cannot learn too early in life that the heart and soul of a man goes down very hard and leaps from ruin quickly. Like it or not, life is a jungle so teach your children how to take one on the chin and come back swinging. Teach them to fight fair certainly, but DO teach them to fight.
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