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bulbspoon9-blog · 5 years

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New York Travel Guide: A Taste of Midtown

Planning a trip to New York City? Join me for our family’s picks on places to eat, sleep and visit while in Midtown New York in this New York Travel Guide. I am excited to share some hometown favorites with you AND collaborate with my very own brother, Andre Legaspi, who is a talented NYC-based street and lifestyle photographer. Photos by Andre Legaspi Photography.

Photo by Andre Legaspi Photography.

My New York Travel Guide is long overdue. I was born and raised in New York, and head back regularly to visit family and friends, and of course, for work. I try to keep a finger on the pulse of the city and check out what’s new (and what is still around), so it’s about time I shared some of my must-sees with you. As a New York native who now calls California home, I offer a perspective that comes from someone who loves and misses her hometown and feels like a tourist at the same time.

Let’s start with A Taste of Midtown, shall we? Midtown may not have the cool factor of lower Manhattan, but between you and me, it’s my favorite. The light is brighter, the streets make sense, there’s always a show to catch, and my offices used to be in midtown, so I feel like I know it best.

Stay

My favorite place to stay when visiting as a family of four is the Andaz 5th Avenue. Across the street from the New York Public Library, it’s away from the zoo that is Times Square, but within walking distance to so many locations, particularly Broadway theatres and Grand Central Station. The suites are roomy, with little kitchenettes, and the food and room service is superb.

The London NYC is another gem. This hotel used to be an apartment building, making its all-suite rooms spacious by NYC hotel standards.

Eat & Drink

Have ramen at Ippudo Westside. Don’t forget the pork buns!

The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station has been serving up oysters and seafood since 1913.

Indian Accent serves up a taste of New Delhi inside the beautiful Le Parker Meridien.

For more casual Indian food, check out Bengal Tiger. This tiny gem used to be a favorite when I was working in the area.

If you won’t be going into Flushing, stop into Joe’s Shanghai for some slurp-worthy soup dumplings. The crab soup dumplings are the best.

Start your day with bagels and lox! If you’re on the west side, head to Best Bagel & Coffee (love their non-dairy schmears!). On the east side, go to Ess-a-Bagel. My husband loves to surprise us by bringing home a dozen when he goes back. They ship, too!

Grab pastrami on rye and a knish at the Carnegie Deli.

Tim Ho Wan is now in Midtown! No need to fly to Hong Kong for dim sum and barbecue pork buns, though you will definitely have to wait.

Serendipity 3 – if decadence is what you’re after, this is your place. Back in the day, my friends and I would stop in just for dessert and order the Outrageous Banana Split — it was HUGE, and this was before Instagrammable desserts were a thing.

Sarabeth’s has been a favorite for brunch for decades!

Magnolia Bakery has grown since they opened their first store in NYC, but if you’re craving something sweet, why not pop in for their famed banana pudding?

Bibble & Sip – craving cream puffs? Stop in for a sweet treat and a coffee, maybe before catching a show?

Check out Eclair Bakery for a taste of Paris in New York!

Danji for delicious Korean! Try the shrimp and scallion pancakes, beef sliders, pork belly sliders, egg over rice, and tofu ginger scallion dressing. Perfect place to grab dinner before watching a show!

Explore The Plaza Food Hall, downstairs in the Plaza Hotel — you can find everything from doughnuts to lobster, and everything in between. You can do a whole food crawl in this spot alone.

Whenever I’m in a rush, I look for a Halal Guys food truck (street food various locations). It’s a great way to get your gyro or falafel fix.

I’m guessing you’re looking for a slice of pizza while in Midtown…so stop in NY Pizza Suprema near Penn Station.

Need your bubble tea fix? Go to ViVi Bubble Tea on 7th, Gong Cha on E44th or Kung Fu Tea in Koreatown.

Looking for vegan food? We love P.S. Kitchen – perfectly located in the Theater District for dinner before a show, the food is absolutely delicious and all profits are donated to charity. Blossom in Chelsea has been a vegan standby, and there’s also a wonderful location on the Upper West Side. For fast vegan food, by CHLOE has several locations throughout Manhattan, including one in Rockefeller Center.

Craving fresh produce? Just around the corner from the United Nations Plaza, the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket is open every Wednesday and is host to farmers from the tri-state area.

Photo by Andre Legaspi Photography.

See & Do

Catch a Broadway show.

The New York Public Library is worth a peek, especially for book lovers.

Bryant Park is one of my favorite spots and is right behind the New York Public Library. If you’re in New York during the summer, stop by Bryant Park for their outdoor movie nights. Winter brings ice skating. I used to eat many picnic lunches here back in the day!

Top of the Rock for the views! And if it’s Christmas, take in the twinkling tree and go for a skate in Rockefeller Center.

Catch a performance at Radio City Music Hall. If it’s the holidays, you can see the Christmas Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes!

Even if you’re not catching a train, stop into Grand Central Terminal. There are tons of eateries housed in the beautiful terminal.

Explore the exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art.

Go shopping! Flagship stores abound, from the three B’s (Bloomingdales, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman) to Saks 5th Avenue. Plus, there are The Shops at Columbus Circle if you’re looking for a mall that happens to have high-end restaurants such as Masa and Per Se.

Sneak away from the urban jungle and stroll along the High Line. The High Line stretches down into Chelsea and Lower Manhattan, which is where we’ll pick up the guide again next time!

Photography by my very talented brother, Andre Legaspi. Follow Andre on Instagram and check out his work at andrelegaspi.com.

MORE FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDES

Paris Travel Guide: A Taste of The City of Lights A Taste of London: A Family Travel Guide A Taste of Hong Kong: A Family Travel Guide A Taste Of Cruising the Mexican Riviera: Travel with Princess Cruises A Taste of Deer Valley, Utah: A Family Ski Travel Guide

Source: https://kitchenconfidante.com/new-york-travel-guide-a-taste-of-midtown

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ecoorganic · 4 years

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The Improbable Story of Boxing's David Benavidez and His Fighting Family

Disputes, death, a shooting, a drug suspension and now, a pandemic—José Benavidez Sr. and his two sons have persevered through it all in their collective chase for championship belts. Now it's up to David Benavidez, one of boxing's youngest champions, to keep the family's dream alive.

The latest home for one of boxing's youngest champions is the last place anyone would look. There are reasons for that, starting with the gunshots back in Phoenix that split apart and redirected the paths of the fighting Benavidez brothers, threatening to derail their father’s dream. José Benavidez Sr. had stolen food, slept in cars, carried guns, boosted stereos, learned a sport, opened gyms, fought off rivals. And then, finally, on the verge of grasping all he desired, the plan he scratched and begged and worked tirelessly for started to fall apart.

After all of that, he says his life became “a little bit more complicated.”

Three years after the shooting upended all his sacrifice, Senior and his sons—José Jr. and David, who won his first belt at 20—can be found in the greater-Seattle area in Renton, Wash., a hotbed for elite youth basketball near the waterfront headquarters of an NFL power. Their gym is tucked into a strip mall of impossibly diverse options: fish house, halal market, teriyaki restaurant, copy spot, haircut place, climbing space for kids and the massage parlor, Blissful Knead. The windows to the gym are covered in the likenesses of the Brothers Benavidez, who have been trained, goaded, prodded, protected, angered and managed by their father their entire lives. The artwork serves dual purposes, at once announcing that boxing’s most challenged—and perhaps most challenging—family has arrived, while also blocking anyone hoping to peer inside.

In 23 years, David Benavidez and his family have lived something like 23 lifetimes. Even in boxing, a sport where complicated father-son relationships trend toward the extreme, the Benavidez boys present an outlying case study in family dynamics. They have shot guns and been shot at. Been threatened with lawsuits and sued. Moved to five different states. Confronted everything from rival promotional companies, internal discord, reports of their “toxic” relationship, the shooting, the death of a beloved uncle, a drug suspension and, now, a pandemic. All to arrive here, of all places, preparing for Aug. 15, when David is favored to batter Roamer Alexis Angulo at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on Showtime.

The story of David’s improbable boxing climb—and Junior’s sudden fall—is a tale soaked in violence, heightened by hyperbole and grounded in unwavering confidence. And it’s almost impossible to believe. It’s the story of a father and his two sons, the boys on which he imposed his ambitions, creating champions and chaos and three perspectives on one dream. A family that stands perpetually on the precipice of greatness and remains in danger of losing everything.

Senior: Mexico, 1970s

Before Senior knew anything about boxing, he was just a boy who had been abandoned his entire childhood. His parents separated when he was two; his dad walked out on the family, and his mom left for the United States, leaving her son with her mother, who was in her 80s and too frail to care for a young child. So before he raised two boxing champions, Senior, as he likes to say, raised himself.

His stories can sound apocryphal to the point that even his sons wonder where they might be embellished or touched up. Senior says that until age 11 he worked in fields, harvesting or planting corn. He says he also stole food, and when he couldn’t find any scraps to pilfer, he ate leaves sprinkled with salt, discarded fruit he found in garbage bins, “little animals from the mountains,” plus dirt. Yes, dirt.

He says he moved to California at 11, summoned by his mother. He says his stepdad kicked him out. He says that he quit school after eighth grade, ran with gangs and even started one of his own, teaching fellow members how to steal radios from cars. He says he sold drugs, sleeping with a 9 millimeter under the pillow. He says he never considered another life, until …

Senior: Phoenix, 1992

Senior can still remember the first day he saw his namesake, that beautiful little boy he would call Junior, the first of his four children. Still a teenager, Senior moved to Arizona with his family and secured a job at the Ritz-Carlton, ascending from dishwasher to banquet captain over the next 15 years. He bought a house, settled down and was happily married for a time.

If Junior’s birth marked a revelation, David’s arrival, in 1996, only reinforced Senior’s desire to succeed regardless of what it took. Even in his relatively peaceful new existence, he still worried constantly about his children, wondering whether they would pay for his mistakes. “I always thought for some reason I was going to die,” he says. “I could see this moment, my death. So I said, God, give me another day, so that I can make them stronger.”

Senior placed his children into soccer and baseball and distance running and swimming, strengthening them in any way that he could find. But they appeared drawn to one sport above all others: boxing.

Senior: Phoenix, 1990s, early 2000s

When Senior decided to become a trainer, manager and boxing aficionado, all he knew at that point was the greatness of Oscar De La Hoya. Still, he proved an eager student, showing up at gyms, pestering anyone who would entertain his endless questions, buying instructional videos and tapes of old fights until he wore out the family VCR.

Senior says he started to wake Junior at 5 a.m. for roadwork at “age two or three.” He made mini pads for the little boy to hit. Before Junior was in kindergarten, Senior started to place him with opponents of increasing skill level, for longer durations, wanting to drain his son’s hyperactive energy. This, he told both boys, is what sacrifice looks like.

David: Phoenix, 2000

The boy his father calls “our ugly duckling” also began training as a toddler, although with far less acclaim. If his brother was the prodigy who hardly watched fights, David was the fan, who always did. Hoping to bond with his father, he studied Marco Antonio Barrera, “Prince” Naseem Hamed and Roy Jones Jr. at the same time he watched cartoons. He also woke up at 5 a.m. to run two miles, just like his brother, who, once he started school, would jog the mile from the family home each morning, doubling the distance with a longer route.

By age eight, Junior had won dozens of amateur fights. His parents would divorce. Junior would go to live with his father, while David went to stay with his mom and younger sister. This marked the first time the brothers’ paths diverged.

David: Phoenix, 2008

At home with mom, David stopped boxing and took up a new hobby: eating away his feelings of not measuring up to his father’s expectations or his brother’s immediate success. After school, David would make two packages of ramen noodles, down both, then slam an Oreo sleeve, then scarf down dinner and dessert. He favored hot Cheetos, cake with extra frosting, nacho cheese, Taco Bell and Mountain Dew Code Red. He never ate Happy Meals, starting instead on the value combos, even supersizing them. He gained 80 pounds, ballooning to 260 or so by age 12.

At school, kids did what kids do. When David told others that he boxed, they pointed at his physique and cracked jokes. “Fat ass!” they taunted. “You don’t box!”

Senior: Los Angeles, 2009

While David stayed in Phoenix, his father and brother moved to Hollywood, like some pugilistic Clampetts, so that Junior could turn pro. By then, Junior was an 11-time national champion with more than 100 amateur victories, a prodigy in every sense who had won the National Golden Gloves title at 16. Sometimes, the Benavidez boys slept in their car, or with Freddie Roach, who welcomed them to Wild Card Boxing Club, his famous training ground at the corner of Santa Monica and Vine.

Then, David called his dad one day. At age 13 and overweight, he wanted to move back in with them and return to boxing.

“If you do,” Senior told him, “you will become champion of the world.”

José Benavidez Sr. and his two sons

David: Los Angeles, 2010

When David stepped into Wild Card for the first time, his father did a double take. “Dang,” he said. “You’re just so god--- fat.” Many at the gym laughed like David’s classmates. They knew Junior, who was ripped, handsome, charismatic and marked for stardom. David? A teenaged Butterbean, with speed despite his size and newfound power behind his punches. “In my mind, he felt depressed,” Senior says. “He didn’t talk to nobody. He would only talk to me.”

The Benavidez boys resumed their regimen. David cut out all drinks except for water. He stopped eating rice, bread and pasta, save for the occasional treat. He ate fish, chicken and salad after waddling through every morning run. The weight dripped off him, but he retained the power. Senior started to run his mouth about his youngest, saying things that seemed unbelievable at the time. “He’s better than Junior!” he would shout. “He has more heart! He’s more grounded!”

“I tried to convince people,” Senior says now. “They would laugh in my face.”

Junior: Los Angeles, Phoenix, 2011–13

One year after turning pro, Junior had already notched 14 victories with 12 KOs. His career remained the family’s shared aim. But the more he won, the more the circle expanded, and tension escalated between Senior and the crew at Wild Card. To rebuild a cocoon, Senior moved back to Arizona and opened his own gym. He fell in love again, remarried and had another daughter. With four kids now relying on one pro and his father-trainer, Senior became even more strict, assuming absolute control. His boys couldn’t go to the movies. They rarely saw their friends. “It was bad for them,” he admits. “They had no childhood.”

Back in Phoenix, Senior says his sons rebelled. Junior says the brothers had grown weary of all the rules, all the I-ate-dirt stories. They didn’t have to struggle the way Senior had, but he never ceased to remind them of his sacrifice. Senior says that sometimes he believed that Junior “hated” him, a notion that Junior denies, saying he understood his father’s methods, the cost of training and national tournaments and his dad’s desire to maximize his immense talent. He knows his father often pulled up at McDonald’s with $2 and change, bought a pair of double cheeseburgers off the value menu and gave one apiece to each son while his stomach rumbled. “I did have a rough childhood,” Junior says. “But that’s how my dad was: rough. The thing about him is he’s always going to find a way.”

David: California, 2012

With Junior firmly established as a contender, Senior spent more time trying to elevate David to the same place. That meant David would spar grown men at age 15. He dropped a 200-pounder with a chiseled frame. One suffered a broken nose; others crumpled to the canvas. At that point, Senior suggested that David try his skills against professionals and world champions, and David learned one of the great lessons of boxing—that every fighter feels fear every time they fight and that anyone who says otherwise is lying. He felt scared when he stepped into the ring for sparring sessions with Kelly Pavlik, Peter Quillin and Gennady Golovkin, all champs who hit so hard he’d lose his breath.

GGG came to advise David like an older brother, offering strategy tips and even suggesting the services of his trainer, the highly regarded Abel Sanchez. Father and son shot GGG a quizzical look. This was prime GGG, set to make his U.S. debut and become a pay-per-view star. Surely, he was simply being kind. No, he told them, I’m for real.

David: Mexico, 2013

As the young boxer’s confidence rose, Senior decided that David, at 16, should also turn pro. By then, David had dropped to almost 100 pounds to 170. But he would have to fight in Mexico, with only 15 amateur bouts on his résumé, because no sanctioning body in the U.S. would ever approve an opponent of that age.

The bout took place in Rocky Point, the fishing and resort town southwest of Phoenix, over the border. “I was,” he admits, “super scared.” Senior heard all the complaints. “A lot of people told me I was crazy,” he says. “That I’m stupid. That I want to get rich off of my kids. It got in my mind, you know. Like, maybe I am. Maybe I’m making a mistake.”

David had never fought without headgear, in front of a real crowd. But his family packed into the stands, including his favorite uncle, his mother’s brother, U.S. Army veteran Moises Balladares. David won by knockout, in the first round, against an opponent who would never fight again. The danger was real but not as heavy as he’d imagined, the result of another Senior calculation, all part of the plan.

The family dream shifted in that moment. Now, Senior and his boys all wanted the same thing: for both David and Junior to hold belts at the same time.

Still, the Benavidez boys were broke. What they made went back into their operation, or to the whims of the boys who took the risk inside the ring. Senior continued to crisscross the country, bolstering his training methods, visiting respected camps like those run by the Diaz brothers, Sanchez and Robert Garcia. The plan had fallen perfectly into place. Now, he planned to build on it.

His oldest won a world title first, just as Senior had designed. In Las Vegas, against Mauricio Herrera, Junior nabbed the WBA super lightweight belt by unanimous decision in 2014. He had no idea that night when he celebrated that he would fight only three more times before The Incident—and only six more times in the next six years.

No one could have anticipated the wild, dubious, impossible sequence yet to come.

Junior: Phoenix, 2015

Senior saw his namesake’s behavior change. Every dime that Junior made from fighting he seemed to spend on fast sports cars or put toward fancy guns. He bought a Colt .38 with an image of the grim reaper carved onto the handle. Senior would hear his boy speeding away from the gym, in one souped-up ride or another, the engines revving like on the infield at Daytona. Every time he heard a helicopter overhead he thought the police were giving chase. When someone torched one of Junior’s rides, a Mercedes, many around the family speculated that someone had tried to collect on one of Senior’s unpaid debts. False, he says.

After months of sleepless nights, Senior decided to confront his oldest. “Guess what?” he thundered, taking aim at his son’s reckless lifestyle. “You’re going to get in trouble. You think you’re a superstar, you’re a champion, you get free s---, you can do whatever you want? You could end up dead.”

He always yelled the same thing at Junior. You’ll understand when you’re a parent!

David: U.S. Virgin Islands, 2015

Even though David won his first 10 fights, with nine KOs, any interest in signing him remained scarce. Top Rank Boxing passed. So did Golden Boy Promotions. Senior started to lie to his son, telling David there was interest, while all but begging for deals in the background. He worried his mere presence helped more than it hurt, and he felt like he couldn't help either boy achieve their dream.

The trajectory changed that summer, when undefeated boxer Julius Jackson, who had won the WBA super middleweight title the year before, invited David down to picturesque St. Thomas for sparring. David could hardly believe his luck—a free, all-expenses paid trip to a tropical island where he’d stay at the oceanside mansion of a prominent politician and bank $1,200 per week for a month.

A woman picked up Senior and David at the airport on a cloudless afternoon. “I hope your son doesn’t get hurt,” the woman said, highlighting the perceived danger in the matchup.

On the first day, the first time they engaged, in the first round, David battered Jackson into an early submission. That’s super rare in sparring and almost unheard of for the champion/host. “I’m not even playing, I landed like an 18-punch combination,” David says.

Jackson’s trainer called Sampson Lewkowicz, the boxing manager and promoter, and told him: You’re dumb if you don’t sign this guy.

“After that, his life changed,” Senior says of David. “I didn’t know he was that good. He was the ugly duckling. Nobody had believed in him but us.”

Junior: Phoenix, 2016

On the night that three lives changed, Junior went outside the home that he shared with his girlfriend to walk his Schnauzer and what he claims was a $10,000 cat, the exotic pet indicative of his warped perspective. Outside, he started down the street, his head buried in his phone, immersed in Snapchat updates. After the dog started barking, Junior noticed a man standing nearby, wearing, oddly, a dark hoodie in the triple-digit summer heat.

As the man slowly approached, Junior noticed his mustache, sideburns and a familiar expression he often saw from opponents—fear. The man asked whether his dog bit. No, he responded, as he bent down toward the dog and heard the first shot from the gun that pierced the femoral artery in his right knee. Junior raised his right hand in front of him, and the bullet meant for his head instead glanced the edge of his pinkie finger.

“Dude,” Junior told his assailant, “you a b----.”

Junior called his father first, then David. He worried more for his career than for his life. He screamed into the night, until an ambulance’s siren drowned out his wails. He told his father that he failed him, ruining the dream they shared. He told his brother not to worry, that he would be all right. As the news spread, extended family and friends expressed shock, outrage. But not Senior. “When I heard he got shot, I knew it was coming,” he says.

The Benavidez boys believe that someone close to Junior ordered the shooting, after a dispute over a woman that Junior had “stolen” from one of his gangster friends. His father had warned Junior, both of what might happen and what he stood to lose if anything went wrong. But despite all the sacrifice, all he’d done and all he’d left behind, he couldn’t save Junior on that night.

Senior started to sink into a depression. His oldest had turned into his old self. He pointed the blame inward and thought: I created a monster.

That was only half of it.

David: Las Vegas, 2017

One brother’s rise continued while the other brother’s halted on that street, their paths diverging once again. Junior was shot where the knee bends, just under the kneecap, and, as the ligaments and cartilage healed, everything twisted into knots. Doctors wondered whether he would walk again, let alone fight, ever. The shooting had forced the family to again opt for relocation, at first back to Los Angeles. “It just made me paranoid,” David says. “Just being there in Phoenix. I still really don’t go back much. It’s something you never forget.”

David won on ShoBox, the prospect showcase for Showtime. He fought at bigger venues, like the Barclays Center, the MGM Grand and AT&T Stadium. More knockouts. More buzz. And, finally, a title fight, scheduled for Sept. 8, 2017, against Ronald Gavril at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. The whole brood planned to be there, again, just as they had for his first pro bout in Mexico.

With three weeks left in camp, David received a frantic phone call from his mother: Her brother and David’s beloved uncle, Balladares, had been fatally shot in Arizona in a standoff with the police, the circumstances murky. The cops said he was threatening to kill himself. David worried about his brother, that he might lapse and seek vengeance for his uncle’s death. He took three days off from training to consider canceling the title shot. Ultimately, he believed his uncle would have wanted him to fight—not just for himself, but for his brother, whose dream and knee had both been shattered.

As the fight drew near, David came down with the worst flu of his life. He could hardly get out of bed and he still had to drop eight pounds in the final 24 hours before the weigh-in. Boosted by intestinal fortitude—and guilt over his family’s saga—David made weight, dragged his weary body into the ring and scratched out a split-decision victory, good for the family’s second world title.

At age 20, David was officially boxing’s youngest champion, but he hardly felt like celebrating. He went to the hospital afterward, to receive treatment for a broken hand, and he could hear the nurses, incredulous, talking to the man in the next bed over. A drawn curtain separated them. As the doctor ticked off the man’s injuries, listing a concussion, a broken nose and a broken jaw, David realized that it was his opponent sitting next to him. He felt bad in that moment and wondered: What was the purpose of all this? Why him? His father? His family?

All their futures now hinged on him.

“I do this to make you happy,” he told his older brother after he won the title.

“Don’t,” Junior responded. “You’re going to have problems if you’re not happy with yourself.”

David: Las Vegas, 2018

The higher David climbed, the heavier it became to carry his family history and burdens. For a while, that worked in his favor, serving as the best kind of motivation, intrinsic and essential. In February 2018, he dominated the rematch with Gavril to retain his title. But he also started down the familiar path of self-destruction, of women and parties and drugs.

David wanted to move back to Phoenix, his father says, to party with his friends, the exact path that Junior had taken to nearly fatal results. His father wanted to scream. Instead, he tried to calmly lay it out for David. He had left everything—his house, his gym, his second family—to help David secure the belt that hung around his waist. And David wanted to throw all that away? For drugs? If that was his choice, Senior dared, then take it. David stayed.

They moved to Oregon, then Las Vegas, where the Benavidez boys found trouble yet again. David signed with Top Rank behind his father’s back, then changed his mind, then decided to go with Lewkowicz, who paid back David’s $250,000 signing bonus and assumed control of his career.

Months later, still in Vegas that September, David tested positive for cocaine. His third title defense was canceled. He lost his belt without losing a fight and was suspended for four months. His family lost something worse. Their dream. His father’s dream. Again.

Senior: Las Vegas, 2018

The father says he struggled more than his sons ever knew. Late at night, unable to sleep, Senior wondered if his methods had caused their collective downfall. “I felt terrible,” Senior says. “I really wanted to kill myself. I just wanted to give up. I’m sacrificing my wife, my little girl. I’m f------ broke. And I’m supposed to be protecting them.”

Story of my life, he says. Push, prod, inch higher. Ignore those who question motives. Make something from literally nothing. “And, then, boom,” Senior says. “Something happens.”

Senior, Junior and David: Renton, Wash., 2019

Through all the mishaps and bad decisions and the shooting, Senior continued to move camp. Both he and his youngest son desired the same aim. Something closer to normalcy. A place to begin to reclaim all that they had lost.

Eventually, they all settled outside Seattle, near the airport. One of David’s friends grew up near there, and he swayed David with his descriptions of the summers, plus the chance to build a boxing haven in one place nobody would ever expect. David bought a house near the water. Junior got a spot nearby. Senior opened one gym, grew it and then opened another, in that strip mall, with images of his homegrown champions covering the windows, preparing for business to boom in the spring of 2020—until the coronavirus pandemic hit.

After topping J'Leon Love in his postsuspension comeback fight, David won back his belt in September 2019, knocking out another world champion in Anthony Dirrell at the Staples Center in L.A. Three fights he expected to be made never materialized. But despite his own career stall, the positive test, the death of his uncle, the injury to his brother and COVID-freaking-19, he had found something near Seattle that he had never had as an adult. Stability felt good. His girlfriend became pregnant with his first child, a boy he plans to mold into a fighter, another link in the family business. She’s due in September. “It seems like home now,” David says. “Like how it felt back at the beginning.”

David: Renton, Wash., 2020

David knows what’s possible, starting with his next fight. Should he continue to win, the options at super middleweight appear endless, from Canelo Alvarez to Caleb Plant and Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders and Gilberto Ramirez. He wants all of them, he says, especially Plant. Should David make a run through that gantlet, he’d be staring at pay-per-view millions, a Hall of Fame career and a lucrative move up to the 175-pound division. Big if, of course, but hardly more far-fetched than what has taken place to now. David also knows he’s not even 24 years old, still a year or three from really entering his prime.

“I really want to see the Canelo fight,” Junior says of boxing’s top draw, a candidate for defining fighter of the post-Mayweather-Pacquiao era. “I guarantee he’ll beat the f--- out of him.”

David says, “I want them to mention me and Canelo, like they mention Manny and Floyd.”

As for Junior, David says, “I want to take care of him, too. I told him, if you ever need anything, just let me know.”

Junior: Renton, Wash., 2020

The first champion in the Benavidez family isn’t sleeping much these days. That’s due mostly to his daughter, born four months ago, the impetus behind extending his break from boxing. Junior had never really taken time off before, except after the shooting, when he came back in less than two years and even fought Terence Crawford, perhaps the top boxer alive, for the WBO welterweight belt. Senior advised against that matchup, saying Junior wasn’t fully recovered, and yet Junior acquitted himself well, going deep with the formidable champion, who scored a final-round KO.

Through all that, Junior understands, finally, what Senior told him. He is, after all, a parent.

Now, he says, “I’m going to be back. I will be world champion again.”

David simultaneously worries about Junior and believes in his comeback chances. Sometimes, he feels guilty. For two healthy legs. For two world titles. For all that’s still in front of him. He still wants both brothers to hold belts at the same time, making all three dreams reality. “The thing that sucks is he’ll never be the same,” David says. “I try and motivate him, but [the shooting] stuck with him. It was probably the people around him who did that. I don’t know. It just sucks. He has—what is it?—PTSD.”

Senior: Renton, Wash., July 2020

Despite the unfathomable adventure that led here, Senior would seem to have everything he ever wanted. At last. His oldest boy is a former world champion who survived two bullets and turned his life around. His youngest boy, also a world champion, still has countless opportunities in boxing, despite the drug suspension. By September, God willing, both boys will be parents, and Senior will be a grandfather twice over. His gym is open now, with plenty of customers and space carved out for his boys to train in pristine cleanliness so as to avoid COVID-19. Senior says that David’s fight against Angulo on Saturday isn’t the culmination of their life’s work, it’s closer to the beginning of what’s possible. Nobody is eating dirt.

Perfect, right?

But everything, as usual with the Benavidez boys, is not exactly as it seems. Unprompted, Senior begins detailing another fight outside the ring. Their fortunes have changed again, but he still seems to see disaster looming, always and forever. He worries that he and his sons are no longer aligned, that he's losing his influence as they grow older. “People are going through their heads, you know,” he says. “They want more. They gotta think about their own families. Sometimes, I wonder: do they care about me?”

The tenor of the conversation changes. It’s darker from then on. Would he do everything again? “Well, I’m broke,” he says. He pauses for so long it seems like he has stopped answering. But he eventually continues. “I don’t know, man. It’s so much sacrifice. At the end of the day, people say I’m a thief. Me!”

He cites the promotional companies that turned him down, the nights spent in those cars, the double cheeseburgers he watched his sons eat. He mentions the long list of boxers who lost millions in divorce courts, even their own belts. It’s like there’s what he knows he should say and what he wants to say and those notions are warring in his head. “Sometimes, it just hurts so much,” he says. “When you work so hard, and you don’t get a little bit of credit. Or they would prefer listening to other people.”

His eyes well with tears. “I just want a big f------ hug, you know,” he says. “I don’t need money. I’m here, with my little girl, training the boys, doing what I love doing. I want that hug. It’s more important than anything.”

Senior pulls back the curtain on the private training space. He points to a framed picture hanging from the wall. It’s him and his two boys, just children, and they’re posed inside the ring, smiles stretched wide across their faces. That picture means everything to him, perhaps even more than the belts. “See,” he says, “when they were little, before …” He trails off, the implication clear.

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thehungrykat1 · 5 years

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El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse Opens in Trump Tower Manila

A new internationally-renowned steakhouse has just opened at the Trump Tower in Century City, giving steak lovers like me more reasons to smile with their premium, Argentinian-style steaks and lamb chops that truly blew me away. I thought I had already tasted some of the best steaks and beef in the land, but this new restaurant just gave me a heavenly steak experience that made me visit it two days in a row.

El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse is a new contemporary steakhouse that officially opened its doors last October 16, 2019 at the ground floor of Trump Tower Manila in Century City, Makati. It is just a few steps away from Century City Mall so you can comfortably park your cars there and just walk to the corner to reach the restaurant. El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse made waves with its first restaurant in Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam back in 2011. Now, they have expanded to 16 branches worldwide from Hanao to Bangkok, Koh Samui, Slovakia, Hong Kong, Germany, and finally in Manila.

I attended their red carpet grand launch party last October 16 and it was a jam-packed evening full of wines, sliders, lamb chops and steaks all around. But I wanted to see the restaurant in its natural state so I came back the next day for lunch!

The place is open daily from 11:00am up to 12:00mn. Owner Danny Himi from Germany and his partners created a steakhouse with a modern Latin American vibe. It features a single floor open space with an inviting bar, a private dining room and cozy seating areas. The floor-to-ceiling windows provides the spacious venue with bright natural light and offers a direct view to the terrace.

El Gaucho is a great place for a romantic dinner date, but I also like their lovely and refreshing lunch ambiance. The rustic interiors and wooden furnitures also contribute to its charm and elegance. This is also a good venue for power lunches and business gatherings, especially with its proximity to the Makati commercial business district.

A private dining area is available for family get-togethers with fine wines and premium steaks. El Gaucho also has its own butcher shop for those who want to prepare their high-quality steaks at home. They use only the best available meat products sourced from selected farms and ranches in Victoria, New South Wales and the United States, including high-quality, natural Prime Black Angus US grain fed, Australian Black Angus grass fed, and Pure Blood Australian Wagyu.

More importantly, all their meat products are Halal certified which ensures that the meat complies with the religious ritual, observance and is allowed to be eaten according to the Islamic Shari law. They are probably the only Halal-certified steakhouse in the entire country.

I was still on a high from the previous evening’s festivities, but guests should be happy to know that there is no specific dress code at the restaurant. Of course, given the elegance of this place, it’s also advised to dress well for the occasion. Thank you Sunny Ku (rightmost) for inviting us to the party!

But i guess the party is not over yet, because I ordered their Raspberry Mojito (P490) for my beverage. This is a refreshing combination of Havana Club 7 Years rum mixed with sugar, lime, mint, raspberry, and soda. They also have a wide selection of fruit shakes, smoothies, cocktails, spirits, and others to choose from.

Lunch starts with their complimentary bread served with roasted garlic, garlic butter, and Salsa Criolla, a South American sauce composed of sliced onions and cilantro, beets, chili peppers and tomatoes. The bread was freshly baked and you could really smell how good it was.

Argentinean-style appetizers were served to tickle our taste buds before the main meaty attractions arrived. The Beef Carpaccio (P890) comes with thinly-sliced prime beef topped with Parmesan cheese, lemon and olive oil. It is just a simple dish but you get to taste the true quality of the beef with these simple ingredients.

The coloful Avocado Salad (P990) is a delightful combination of avocado, Feta cheese, onions, corn, tomatoes, olive oil, and lemon. I was surprised at how they turned the avocado into this gorgeous salad which was pleasantly light on the palate.

Here are some chorizos to spice up the afternoon. The Chorizo Pork (P490) is a homemade Argentinian-spiced sausage served with a side of garden salad. It is somewhat similar in texture to our longganisa but with much different spices and flavors. On the other hand, the Salchicha (P490) is a spicier version of the Argentinian sausage which can be differentiated by its curled appearance.

Another recommended option is the Provoleta with Chorizo (P990). This has grilled provoleta cheese served on a sizzling skillet with tomato, oregano, and chorizo on top. The combination of sweet and savoury items makes this an explosion of flavors in your mouth.

They also have the Beef Empanada (P490) with its crunchy exterior that gives way to the soft filling inside. Unlike other empanadas in the market, this one is stuffed with lots of beef inside, making it quite a heavy appetizer.

Now let’s get to the main courses! I’m not exactly a fan of lamb chops but these Grilled Lamb Chops (P2190) from Australia are honestly the best ones I have ever had. Each piece is perfectly grilled and oozing with juiciness and smoky flavors.

The texture was perfect so you can just hold on to the stick and bite it with your bare hands. There’s no gamey taste at all and I have never tasted a lamb dish this good!

Owner Danny Himi takes his steaks very seriously. He highlights the original flavor of the naturally raised meat, paired with their modern approach on ingredients, preparation and combinations. He personally brought out the steaks and proudly served it to everyone.

The Tomahawk Wagyu (P1090 per 100g) is a USDA Certified Prime on-the-bone Rib Steak which is typically more flavorful than other cuts because of the inter-muscular fat near the bony areas. This is the steak that we started with so I was really impressed and blown away with the outstanding flavors of the beef even without any sauce.

A sprinkle of rock salt was all that was needed before the wagyu tomahawk was cut and served. It was probably cooked medium or medium rare because you can still see the raw inner portion, but I was so surprised that it was not chewy at all. The steak was absolutely tender and absolutely worth the trip to Makati.

Several side dishes are also available to pair with the steaks. The Cream Sauteed Spinach (P490) is highly recommended with its creamy rendition of this nutritious vegetable, or you can go for the Potato Gratin (P390) instead.

They also have Sweet Potato Fries (P390) and French Fries (P390) for those who prefer a crunchy side dish. Other options include the Sauteed Mushrooms (P490), Baked Potato (P390), Truffle Mashed Potatoes (P490), and Grilled Asparagus (P790).

Just when we thought we have enough steak, out comes the USDA Prime Fillet Steak (P3490 per 250g). The fillet is the most tender and lean portion of the beef and is also more expensive, so this was even tastier than the tomahawk. There’s less fat on this cut though, so this is better for those who want their steaks meaty and beefy.

There’s actually no need for any sauce in my opinion, but if you want to add some variety to your steak experience, you can choose from their selection such as Pepper Sauce, Wild Mushroom Sauce, Blue Cheese Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Red Wine Sauce, and more.

For desserts, we tried a few of their sweet endings like the Dulce de Leche in Crepe (P550) which is topped with caramel syrup and served with Vanilla ice cream.

There’s also the Homemade Cold Cheesecake (P550) with its lemon-flavored cheesecake drizzled with berry compote. If you have a sweet tooth, go for the Flan Caramel (P490) with its thick layer of indulgent leche flan to end your meal.

But wait, there’s more! You can’t leave El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse without trying their signature El Caramel (P350 per shot). This is a one-of-a-kind caramel vodka which uses Belvedere Vodka infused with their own caramel syrup to create this signature house-blend specialty. I had a couple of glasses of these last night but I’m still game for a few more before we leave. These are just so good!

El Gaucho also offers Lunch Specials where you can get their amazing steaks, lamb chops, and burgers at lower prices. Aside from that, they all come with a choice of side dish to go along with your main dish. Congratulations to El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse for a smashing grand opening. I don’t think I have ever visited a restaurant twice in less than 12 hours, but I have a feeling I’ll be back here again really soon.

El Gaucho Argentinian Steakhouse

G/F Trump Tower Manila, Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati

(0917) 323-8019

ph.elgaucho.asia

www.facebook.com/ElGauchoPhilippines

#ElGauchoArgentinianSteakhouse #ElGauchoManila #Steakhouse #Steak #TrumpTowerManila

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purplejeeplife · 7 years

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Hiking, a pee skirt, and other ramblings

Yesterday was spend doing laundry, sorting my storage unit to label and have my clothes containers at arms reach. It took longer than expected and when I got done, I went just a short 1-2 miles where a few hiking trailheads are. Now, to the average person, going to an average trailhead may not be a big deal. But, let me talk about transportation. Having this jeep is an enormous change. It used to be that when I wanted to go hiking, it would take me 3-4 hours round trip just to GET THERE. I lived in a much bigger city a little over 30 miles away where there isn’t actual hiking in that city. I would first take the bus to the train to the downtown transit center where I would then grab another hour long bus ride, and then a 20 min uphill walk just to get to the trailheads to get to my hiking destination. My favorite hike takes about an hour to the top, and I like to stay up there and stare at the mountains, meditate or journal. One time I was up there past 2 hours. When you add this all together, it would literally take my whole day up just to arrive, hike, and then return home. But my roommates always saw a very distinct demeanor in me when I got back, and then when I finally would take them too, they’d so “oh, now we see why you’re so happy when you get back from hiking. “ The mountain scenery is so beautiful that it makes me feel like I’m standing looking at a giant unreal painting. I grew at sea level only an hour from the Ocean with just a few mountains scattered around my state, and now I’m in a state with unlimited mountains, many is them at pretty high elevation. I think one reason mountains move my soul is because them make me feel so small, in a very good way. There’s just some kind of unbudged encouragement they whisper to me: “look at us, we’re tall and mighty and don’t move and travel like you do, and but there’s a lot we can do for the humans that accept our challenges. “ Some of the most prolific human achievements can be tied to mountains, in the literal and figurative sense. I can’t say I’m a true mountain climber, but I can say with certainty that I know a good amount of people who’d never attempt to go on the hikes I go on. I once brought 4 friends who were family members and the parent was worried the whole time, and wanted to turn around. She saw ledges and rocks that fall was within easy reach. And was telling them “go this way, don’t go that way, be VERY CAREFUL right now, this isn’t safe. She wasn’t enjoying herself and if had it her way, would have turned around and never came back. This was on a relatively low-key hike. I can’t imagine how she would have reacted if I’d taken them on my now favorite hike where there’s a section you actually have to climb a rock, putting her feet and hands in the designated holes, ladder like style. It’s not uncommon for me to overhear a new tourists wondering out loud “we’re getting up, but how are we going to get down on the way back?” I admit, the first few times I did it, I was nervous too, but like anything else in life, you get used to it. I am certainly afraid of heights, but if beautiful scenery is involved, it is certainly enough motivation to nudge me in the right direction of just going for it. One time a friend made a comment that I should be really careful going hiking alone. I tried to politely accept her well-meaning intent, but part of me scoffed inside “if I only ever went hiking with a buddy, I’d almost never get any hiking done, nor would I enjoy is at much. For me the therapy in hiking isn’t just the mountains, it’s spending time being able to think and digest about life and the challenges I’m facing. Spending time with people can be very deeply rich, but some of us are introverts and also need to sift through happenings with a high ratio of alone time. Also, I can be untethered to the world as long or little as I want and at the pace and skill level that I want. Also, the chirping of birds, rustling of squirrels and occasional inquisitive stares of 10 deer eyes looking up at you, their delicate deer frozen while the process if you’re a thing they should run away from. Usually they decide I’m not and go back to munching leisurely. This is the kind of stuff that I could spend 10 minutes enjoying while another hiker might want to move on after 30 seconds. One time I was walking to the ferry on an island and had conversations with cows that were just within 10 feet of me. I don’t know what it is about the exchange with animals, but few things in life are comparible. Once when I was overseas, I told a goat he was beautiful and he seemed to hear me, his “BAHH” timing impeccable from my compliment. Another tourist nearby overheard and also laughed at the irony or timing. I’ll never know if his instincts actually understood but I have to say I do believe animals are very intelligent in a way that most humans just shrug off. I’m not an activist for animals, but my life does reflect certain methods of living that are more mindful of animals than the average person in America. Let’s just say if I lived in India, I’d be in good company as a person who refuses to intentionally eat meat of any capacity. Heck, I don’t even like killing spiders, though I don’t exactly like them, I don’t think they deserve to die just for existing. Just as well, I don’t think that animals exist for humans eating them. If I lived in a world where there was no such thing as factory farming, and all people and religions followed how Muslims slaughter their meat, the world would be a better place. I don’t like that any animals are slaughtered, however I do understand the reasons why people eat meat, so if some animals have to be slaughtered, Halal meat is the best in my opinion. You can find it in many Arabic or Muslim restaurants and supermarkets.

As I hiked, I kept stopping to check on the paraglider above me. In my checkered black and white plad shirt and multi-colored scarf, I think they looked down and saw me as a vibrant colorful speck. In some weird way I felt connected to this person: both enjoying the same exact geographical location yet from complete different perspectives and using completely different body parts and bits of courage. I silently vowed that someday I wanted to try this, and now that I’m so close in proximity everyday, how much more possible it is than when I was confined to buses taking me back to a sleeping house every time I went hiking. I even eyed the road I parked on as a potential sleeping place. A field on one side, houses on the other, a bathroom near, and no street lights to help me be stealthy. I can’t deny how I secretly wish to hear animal voices instead of human voices walking by. How invigorating would it be, two animals in their own right, just eating, sleeping, peeing without excess or drama to cloud the night. I’ve easily learned how much each inch is valuable and how irritating it is to constantly have to move things around at night just to get situation to sleep. I still have more trial and error to experience but thank god for the storage unit that’s only 2 miles from the gym I use to shower [and pool run]. As a beginner, I’m glad I’m learning van life in just one city and not as a traveler. I’ve packed lightly for trips on planes to big cities I knew I could be anything I needed, like a sweatshirt or deodorant, but traveling upwards 8 hours through deserts of mountains would have to make planning have different edge than any of my vehicles trips. Especially when the car is also the roof over head, and traveling alone. Traveling alone on an airplane or bus is different than being on a deserted highway alone in a car. So, luckily I am learning the basics of car-living with the training wheels luxury of always being in the same city right now.

Last night after I found my spot, I saw about 5 cop cars drive me. I’d seen a police station 2 nights before I omitted the spot a block away that I had eyed as potential sleeping spot. But last night I guessed that as long as I laid low, none of the cop cars would notice. I have now decided not to pursue curtains as I can lay in my sleeping bag without an onlooker seeing human hair or flesh. I have a dinosaur-sized sleeping back that’s grey, and it’s so long that I put it over my head. Yesterday I invested in a grey colored pillow case which I think helps blend even more so that if there’s an occasional inch or few peering out from the pillow, it doesn’t stand out as a pillow as much. When I’m snugged in, the sleeping bag can cover my entire head and most of the pillow. My hips and legs are covered from the removable trunk top, which makes moving around without a ton or freedom, but I’d rather have the lower part of my body covered than take it down so that if someone does bother to look with a flashlight, they’ll just see half of a sleeping bag, which for all they know could be folded up without someone in it. Of course the vision I think it looks like might be different than reality because I can’t see it for my own eyes, but I can say of all the way I could have my jeep and sleeping bag set up, this way is the most chance to pass for stealth. The main downside is that sometimes if I want my face to hit the air, I just have my face exposed. But if I hear or sense anyone walking, I can quickly divert to pulling the sleeping back up. Peeing has to be done with a bit more planning and caution, but luckily I don’t spend nearly as much time peeing as sleeping. And thanks to Target, for the 2nd night in a row, I’ve successfully been able to pee in mostly stealth. I have a long black skirt that has slits up each side, so I can sit and pee in my container while it’s hidden under the skirt. It might not sound fun, but compared to having nothing, a skirt is much relief. I usually scout every direction with full force, of course, to assure no cars are coming before I start. Though the night before last, a pedestrian through me off. I hadn’t seen him until he walked past my car, and then directly after saw another pedestrian walking their dog, which by then I was done but it just taught me that even if the coast looks clear, a person can blend in darkness easier than I realized. That was the first day I had my skirt, so person wouldn’t have seen anything more than an akward person sitting on something dressed in a skirt, there seemed to be no paid attention towards my direction and as I watched his gait, I realized they were walking as a drunk person would. But even if they weren’t drunk, a giant theme that seems to be resurfacing is that most people don’t look twice at a parked car. I’ve been astounded at how many beings pass me unnoticed by my presence. The first night, I even realized there was in a woman in the car behind me parked, applying make-up. It was around 1am I think, and I thought “OH shit,” but she was looking in her mirror and not at my car. I ducked for a while and when I came back, she and her car were gone. I do have tinted windows, but in some lighting, that doesn’t count for helping much.

*a few minutes after I posted this, I got a return call from one of the fri interview places, so I might be having two job interviews tomorrow.

�

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halalrestaurantsnearme1 · 10 months

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Halal Restaurants Near Me (United States) Halal Restaurants Near Me is one of the best here.

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halalrestaurantsnearme1 · 7 months

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Getting Your Restaurant Business Listed on Search Engines List Your Business USA

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halalrestaurantsnearme1 · 9 months

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halalrestaurantsnearme1 · 10 months

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Discover Halal Restaurants Near You in the USA ( United States ) with HalalCourt.com

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ecoorganic · 4 years

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The Improbable Story of Boxing's David Benavidez and His Fighting Family

After all of that, he says his life became “a little bit more complicated.”

Senior: Mexico, 1970s

Senior: Phoenix, 1992

Senior placed his children into soccer and baseball and distance running and swimming, strengthening them in any way that he could find. But they appeared drawn to one sport above all others: boxing.

Senior: Phoenix, 1990s, early 2000s

David: Phoenix, 2000

David: Phoenix, 2008

At school, kids did what kids do. When David told others that he boxed, they pointed at his physique and cracked jokes. “Fat ass!” they taunted. “You don’t box!”

Senior: Los Angeles, 2009

Then, David called his dad one day. At age 13 and overweight, he wanted to move back in with them and return to boxing.

“If you do,” Senior told him, “you will become champion of the world.”

José Benavidez Sr. and his two sons

David: Los Angeles, 2010

“I tried to convince people,” Senior says now. “They would laugh in my face.”

Junior: Los Angeles, Phoenix, 2011–13

David: California, 2012

David: Mexico, 2013

The family dream shifted in that moment. Now, Senior and his boys all wanted the same thing: for both David and Junior to hold belts at the same time.

No one could have anticipated the wild, dubious, impossible sequence yet to come.

Junior: Phoenix, 2015

He always yelled the same thing at Junior. You’ll understand when you’re a parent!

David: U.S. Virgin Islands, 2015

A woman picked up Senior and David at the airport on a cloudless afternoon. “I hope your son doesn’t get hurt,” the woman said, highlighting the perceived danger in the matchup.

Jackson’s trainer called Sampson Lewkowicz, the boxing manager and promoter, and told him: You’re dumb if you don’t sign this guy.

“After that, his life changed,” Senior says of David. “I didn’t know he was that good. He was the ugly duckling. Nobody had believed in him but us.”

Junior: Phoenix, 2016

“Dude,” Junior told his assailant, “you a b----.”

Senior started to sink into a depression. His oldest had turned into his old self. He pointed the blame inward and thought: I created a monster.

That was only half of it.

David: Las Vegas, 2017

All their futures now hinged on him.

“I do this to make you happy,” he told his older brother after he won the title.

“Don’t,” Junior responded. “You’re going to have problems if you’re not happy with yourself.”

David: Las Vegas, 2018

Senior: Las Vegas, 2018

Story of my life, he says. Push, prod, inch higher. Ignore those who question motives. Make something from literally nothing. “And, then, boom,” Senior says. “Something happens.”

Senior, Junior and David: Renton, Wash., 2019

David: Renton, Wash., 2020

David says, “I want them to mention me and Canelo, like they mention Manny and Floyd.”

As for Junior, David says, “I want to take care of him, too. I told him, if you ever need anything, just let me know.”

Junior: Renton, Wash., 2020

Through all that, Junior understands, finally, what Senior told him. He is, after all, a parent.

Now, he says, “I’m going to be back. I will be world champion again.”

Senior: Renton, Wash., July 2020

Perfect, right?

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