THE BLOG

On February 11, 1990, undefeated heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson fought James “Buster” Douglas in what was supposed to be little more than a tune-up bout for Tyson. Doulas had a respectful record, 29-4-1, while Mike Tyson’s record was 37-0 with 33 knockouts. Douglas’ was known to be erratic, with a lack of heart and discipline. Oddsmakers made Tyson a 42-1 favorite to win. There was one person, however, who believed Buster Douglas could win – the woman who gave birth to him, Lula Pearl. Lula Pearl died three weeks before the bout. Her death, coupled with her belief in her son and her encouraging words prior to her death, provided added motivation for Douglas. He stunned the boxing world by not only going toe to toe with Tyson for the entire ten rounds, but in that tenth round he knocked Tyson out. Buster Douglas rode the memory of his mother’s love and encouragement to be crowned Heavyweight Champion of the World.

With Memorial Day occurring just a few weeks ago and with our nation’s 250th birthday just a few days away, let me ask you a question.  Of all the memorials that can be seen in Washington, DC, which would you say is most impactful to you?  Is it one of the presidential monuments – Washington, Jefferson, or Lincoln? Or is it one of the war memorials like WW II, Korea, or Viet Nam?

If the amount  and variety of usage a word gets in a spoken and written language determines the overall importance of the word, then time is a very important concept in our culture.  We speak of being on time, in time, behind time, ahead of time, in the nick of time, out of time, full-time, part-time, and half-time.  We speak of spending time, using time, and wasting time. We divide time by twelve (midnight to noon) and by twenty-four (0100-2400), and we have divided the earth into time zones.  Time is one of the most important resources we have at our disposal.