Fullmer Brothers Boxing

I took a detour on the way home last night, turning south down a rain soaked 13th West Street, passing the ever-present orange barrels that indicate road construction. Just past the small cemetery holding the mortal remains of my dear old friend Robert, I turned right into an old firehouse that has been turned into what can only be described as a sacred place.

I’m old enough to know that sacred places come in a variety of forms – so, if you feel a little squeamish when I tell you that sacred place is Fullmer Brother Boxing you need only hold on while I explain.

For those who do not know, the Fullmer Brothers: Gene, Don, and Jay – are fairly famous icons in Utah. My youngest daughter works at a Gym named after the man who trained Gene Fullmer – a former Middle Weight Champion of the World. The brothers were all world-class boxers. And while Gene is remembered for what he achieved, it is reported that Jay was actually the best of the three before an eye injury curtailed his boxing career when it was just starting.

If you know me well, or read this blog regularly, you also know that my one and only son has caused me more than a little concern since his 13th birthday (he is now 27) and this last summer we had a particularly rough patch.

After Lee’s third trip to an emergency room this summer, I asked him why life was so miserable. We talked about dreams and hopes, and the way life dashes so many of them. We decided life just doesn’t end up being what you thought it was going to be when you were a kid. Lee mentioned always wanting to box, and I ask him why he hadn’t. He mumbled something about Mom’s disapproving, that he just couldn’t find a place, and money, before he slipped back to sleep in his hospital bed.

No sooner had I arrived home that very night than I went on-line to see what I could find. I found a worn website of Fullmer Brothers Boxing in West Jordan, Utah. I sent an email to the “Contact Us” address, asking if they were still in business, outlining Lee’s trouble with the law and alcohol, and his mental state. I asked if their “all-comers” program was for someone like Lee.

The very next day I got a reply from Chet Fullmer, Jay’s son, and the Vice President of USA Boxing. He assured me that Fullmer Brothers was bought and built for young men just like Lee. Chet said Lee should come down anytime, and invited me to come down as see them too.

It was several days before Lee called me – as is so often the case, he had disappeared “off the grid” after being discharged from the hospital and I couldn’t find him. When he called me, I excitedly shared the information I had. He drove right to my home, took the printed off email reply and drove to Fullmer Brothers. And he has been there 3 – 4 nights a week ever since.

In the Engine Bay of the old firehouse, there are rows of heavy-bags in front of an elevated ring. The north walls hold speed-bags. The south walls are covered by old posters, newspaper clippings and pictures

In a blue shirt with a white collar and French cuffs, cuff-links and a carefully knotted striped tie under a dark blue sweater vest I was waaaaay over-dressed. Everyone turned to look when I walked in the side door. I felt out of place. But when Jay learned that I was Lee’s father, he took me to the back office a handed me a Golden Gloves brochure that includes a section called, “Meet Lee.” In that article are quotes from a letter I sent to Chet about the changes in Lee’s life since he met these upbeat men who want to save all the tough young men from prison and bad life choices.

Jay took me around the place while we waited for Lee to arrive, and when he did he went straight to the speed-bag to warm up. We joined him there. He was happy to see me and show me around. In this gym he is a confident, fairly fearless young man with fast hands and the persistence to keep stepping in there.

I met Don, and he told me, “That’s a good kid. We may not have many world champs in here, but we may just keep them out of jail, and that is saying something, isn’t it?” The question was rhetorical, but I answered in the affirmative. He went on to say that they get all kinds, but they are all pretty good kids underneath it all.

And that is why this is a sacred place – it is the way Jay, and Don, and Gene, and their boys (old men in their own right) treat and teach these young men. They tell them they are good kids. They treat them like men. They expect them to be good men. And many of them become what they are expected to become.

Jay told me that often all a young man needs is that one bout that brings him a trophy, and they never return – and never return to their bad habits either. They go on to do something worthwhile with their lives.
While I stood in the corner by the speed-bag watching Lee, first warming up and then moving on to the heavy-bag, I watched the gym swell and recede with between 21 and 35 young men who worked their own routine and received some kind of instruction or tip from the ever-moving Jay or Don.

Jay and Don make the rounds, like a doctor, calling each young man by name, slapping them on the back or on a shoulder. They ask about their lives. They compliment them. They comment on technique. They advise them. They admonish them. Each young man was visibly more confident as Jay or Don moved on from them to another young man. Some were beaming.

The amazing thing – it is all free! The Fullmers bought this place, outfitted it, open it to the public, and staff it from 6 – about 8 PM Monday through Friday - all for free. They teach the young men who frequent the place the five traits that the practice: discipline, nutrition, fitness, integrity and service. They want to turn tough and straying young men into responsible and productive adults as well as competent boxers.

A little before eight, I left Lee back at the heavy bag and headed outside into the rainy night, feeling pretty good about life. I can’t tell you why for sure, but I think it was because Jay and Don just naturally lifted me too.

Monday Political Updates

Most Powerful Man in the U.S. Steps Down
Senator Robert Byrd (aged 91 on Nov 20, 2008) stepped down as Chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and will hand the gavel to 84-year old Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii (what, we couldn’t find a septuagenarian?) Byrd has been a continuous member of the Senate since 1959 – and a member of this most important Senate Committee (handing out nearly $1 Trillion a year!) for 50-years. He will remain a member of the Appropriations Committee. His current Senate Term will expire in 2012.

I’ve said many times that the Presidency is over-rated in terms of raw political power, and the real power is in the combined hands of our Legislators. If that is truly the case, then Senator Byrd has long been the most powerful man in the US. (And if you don’t believe me, just look at what his chairmanship has meant to West Virginia!)

Perhaps less well known, Senator Byrd is a Mason – a Famous Mason! He was also perhaps most responsible for starting my dear friend, Masonic brother and mentor, Robert Wolfarth, on his Masonic journey. Robert used to work on Capitol Hill and was influenced to look in to our Honorable Fraternity when he heard Byrd and other Senators and Masons speak glowingly of their ties to the Fraternity.

We haven’t had a Masonic US President since President Ford, but Senator Byrd and others (Sam Nunn, Jack Kemp, John Glenn, Charles Grassley, Mark Hatfield – to name a few) have continued the time-honored tradition of Masonic Service to our Nation.

Wasatch Lodge No. 1 Election Results
On Friday, November 7, 2008, Wasatch Lodge No 1 of Salt Lake City, Utah, held elections for the principal officers of the Lodge for the year 2009. Leon Crockett, a Salt Lake Attorney, was elected Worshipful Master of Wasatch Lodge to replace Worshipful Brother Jason Mitchell, who has served the Lodge admirably for the last year. Leon is a well-respected member of the Utah Bar, has argued several times before the Utah Supreme Court, a Shrine Clown - and a effective fundraiser for the Shrine Hospital and other laudable charities. He is also one of the kindest men I know.

For those unfamiliar with Masonic doings, a man becomes a “Worshipful Brother” rather than a “Brother” when he is elected Worshipful Master, or Master of his Lodge. This is also sometimes referred to as being “elected to the East,” because the Lodge Master sits in the East of a Lodge. Unlike other organizations, Masons do not run for office. Master Masons in good standing vote, and a simple majority is required for an “election.”

Thirty-seven of the Master Masons of Wasatch Lodge were in attendance at the Friday Elections, along with several Masonic visitors (including four Grand Lodge Officers), and several of the Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts of Wasatch Lodge.

Douglas Backes, an Engineer at ATK, was elected Senior Warden, and Branden Sylvester, Owner of SilverStar Services, was elected Junior Warden. All are what we refer to as “upright men and Masons,” (truly good and moral men!) Taken together, these three principal officers – Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, are the equivalent of the President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents of any other organization or fraternity. During Lodge meetings they sit in the East, West and South of the Lodge and govern the Lodge.

Jason Varner announced that he had no desire to be re-elected to the office of Lodge Secretary, and was replaced by newcomer Michael Anderson who has been serving as Assistant Secretary. Worshipful Brother Varner was recently appointed to an office in the Grand Lodge of Utah.

Jason was one of the first members of Wasatch Lodge I ever met, has been a stalwart and a stabilizing force in the Lodge for years, and is as dedicated a Mason as ever there was. He will be sorely missed – although Michael will do a fine job.

Like Brother Varner, Worshipful Brother Jason Allred also announced that he had no desire to be elected to another term as Treasurer and was replaced by the election of Worshipful Brother Scott Anderson.

There is little I enjoy as much as being with my Masonic Brothers, and whether it is a meeting to transact business or ritual, the Quarterly Communications (dinner and a lecture), or the Book of the Month Club “dinners” at The Other Place Restaurant, I always feel like I am warmly surrounded and truly accepted by some of the finest men in the Valley.

A few moments of diversion

I was genuinely delighted to see that the so-called “Bradley Affect” did not come in to play in the recent election and it appears that the nation chose a president that embodies hope for a better future without regard to race or religion. There is a feel of authentic optimism in the nation, despite the continued fall of the Dow Jones since election night.

If you’ll allow me a few moments diversion from the contest that fills many of my free, waking and non-working moments (the quest for the College National Football Championship) I’ll share a few thoughts about a few other delights and disappointments of the recent election.

First, a few delights. I’m delighted to see the end of election commercials. This election cycle has been going on for nearly two-years and it is just too long. Sports seasons are too long when the NBA, MBL and NFL are all vying for viewers at the same time (October.) And yet, they were more than a year shorter than this election.

I’m also thrilled to see Democrats in Utah show some real signs of life. How nice to see we finally have what appears to be a living, breathing opposition party in the state. If nothing more, a vibrant opposition keeps the majority party on its toes – something that has been missing for quite some time in Utah!

Now then, just a few disappointments. Our Congress continues to contain the two men who did more to bring about our current financial crisis than any other two people anywhere else, including all the CEOs of poorly managed financial institutions. I speak, of course, of Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY) and Representative Barney Frank (D.Mass.) If you haven’t followed the careers of these two well-dressed circus clowns, you ought to pay more attention. It would be appropriate to nick-name them Senator Freddie Mac and Representative Fannie Mae.

Was there anything more disappointing than getting to know Sarah Pallin? She came in, guns blazing, and looked like a true breath of fresh air. Democrats reacted immediately by trying to shut her up, but after the Couric interview, everyone figured out that she was more damaging to her party if she talked. And she talked ad nauseum. Did anyone fit the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt,” better than her?

I’m still disappointed that Senator “Hair-Plugs” is the Vice-President Elect. What was Mr. Obama thinking? Well, maybe he’ll ask Oprah to be Secretary of the Treasury and Biden won’t remain his worst decision for long.

Lastly, I cannot believe that the people of my district sent Chris Buttars back to the Utah Senate for another term by a little more than 2,000 votes. No wonder Utah looks like the backwoods to the residents of other states.

Now that the election is over and we are waiting for the announcement of the new “Dream Team” that will tackle the economy, we can get back to answering the questions that truly matter, like:

Who does the current No. 1, Alabama, play this weekend? (The Tide are at LSU.) Good luck with that!

Will Texas Tech burn out of the Top Ten this week? Or next? (If Ok State doesn’t get them this week, Ok will the following week!)

Will Penn State fans ever stop whining? (Not even if they play in the BCS Championship game!)

And how much are they asking for BYU/UTAH tickets on eBay? ($800-$1200) Are they kidding?!?!