 "Happy Boxing Day!" said Herb, settling in and flipping his cup to
the upright and fillable position."Boxing Day?" said Steve.
"It certainly is," Herb said. He's like that ... a lot.
We looked at each other. Doc put down the crossword puzzle he was
working on.
"You think there'll ever be another Muhammed Ali?" said Dud.
"The best," Doc said.
"How about Sugar Ray Robinson?" Steve said. "A toast to the great
ones!"
Cups were raised.
"Guys?" said Herb. "Boxing Day isn't about ... boxing."
"I knew this was coming," Dud said.
"Boxing Day goes back to medieval times ..."
"Like Doc?"
"Seriously," Herb said. "It was the day after Christmas, and the
masters of the castles and manor houses would give the servants the
day off to go see their families ..."
"Because on Christmas they had to stay in the castle and feed the
duke?" Steve asked.
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column] |
"Precisely. So the lord and master would give each servant a box
with goodies in it for the servant's kiddies and send them on their
way for a day."
"Is this what started the Boxer Rebellion?" Dud asked. Dud
collected strange knowledge.
"No, no!" Herb said. "That was in China ..."
"Don't they make boxer shorts in China?"
We watched Herb. "I don't even know why I bother ..."
Neither do we.
"You guys ever see Mike Tyson's uppercut?"
"I know he's hard on ears."
"I heard about the War of Jenkins' Ear," Dud said. "Maybe that
was hooked up with the Boxer Rebellion?"
We finally got Herb to groan.
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
Brought to you by "Home Country," the best of the first six
years. Read a sample at
www.slimrandles.com.
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