Storyteller Sunday - Doug DeWitt
I'm a firm believer in the simple fact that you never know a person's story. Like this man for example, I met him at Union Square while up in NY. By all accounts, he seemed to be a homeless man like any other. What made him different was what seemed to be his persistent desire to teach people how to box in the park. Upon further talking to him, he introduced himself as Doug DeWitt. To me, that meant nothing but the way he looked after he said it, it should've meant the world. Doug DeWitt was the former WBO Middleweight champion of the World. With a record of 33-8-5, Doug had a successful professional career that ended with a loss to the legendary James Toney.What I found most interesting about my quick Google search was not the fact that he was a former WBO champ but more-so the fact that this former WBO champ was now homeless. "Times get rough, it seems as if the world forgets about you after awhile", is how Doug began his answer. "A lot of life happened, I had a few unfortunate accidents and things just got worse from there." Doug actually, physically fell down a man hole in NY (due to negligence on the city's part) and was never reimbursed for the cost of his injuries. Already, that sounds like a pretty crazy life. To top it off, he had another serious accident in which he was struck by a city bus and from there, life has been a bit of a struggle to regain the past acclaim. "Life is difficult but it's important to always be positive and find happiness within it", a positive outlook for someone who most would see as a person who fell from grace. What's important is to always keep in mind that we can all choose happiness. Unfortunate events take place in all of our lives but the key is to find a center, find balance amongst the chaos. The journey will always provide obstacles and instances that can bring us sadness but the choice to be either sad or happy is our own. We hold that right above all else, which will you choose?
~Life & Love
Written by & Photos taken by: Yogi