"Hurricane"

I like to read. When I have nothing else to do, I usually look for a book to give me some entertainment. I went to a book sale a few days ago to look for a new novel. But a hard bound book caught my eye. It was a book entitled Hurricane.

Now, I know about a famous boxer nicknamed Hurricane, and so I decided to examine the book. To my surprise it was about the boxer that the book reminded me of. It was a biography of Rubin "hurricane" Carter, a top middle weight contender in the sixties who was imprisoned after being accused of a crime he did not commit.

I have been reading the book and I'm glad to say that I enjoyed it. It was inspiring to read about a man fighting to be free from a punishment that he did not deserve. Carter never gave up and fought for his freedom. I decided to look for videos on his fights to see him in action. The book described him as a scary, intimidating fighter with a vicious left hook.

Luckily, I was able to find some videos of Rubin Carter in action. I was glad when i found a video of Carter's biggest win. He was able to knock out Emile Griffith, a Hall of Famer and the reigning welterweight champion of the world at the time. Carter displayed the viciousness of his vaunted left hook in this bout. Here is the video:



Carter's life inspired the writing of books, documentaries and movies. Denzel Washington portrayed him in the latest movie about his life. I also found a video of Bob Dylan singing "Hurricane", a song written to help gather support for Carter's struggle towards freedom. Click here to watch the video. Let me end this post with a part of the lyrics of the song:

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.