Johnny Tapia 1967-2012

Sadly, another boxing great has cast aside his mortal coil and moved forever from our sight. My wife told me the news this morning that Johnny Tapia has passed away. I spent some time reading the many articles and wishing there were something I could add, something I could argue as they assessed a life cut short by violence, drugs and despair. For once, there isn't much I can add. They got it right when they declared it a miracle he had made it this far in life such were the troubles he faced outside the ring.

His mother was brutally raped and murdered in front of him when he was 8 years old. Told his father had been murdered before he was born only to learn 43 years later that he was alive after all. He grew up alone, angry, and filled with a kind of despondent rage that helped make him the boxer he would later become. He once described himself "as a pitbull...raised to fight to the death." He seemed to live his life as a series of challenges he hoped he'd lose. Drugs, gangs, violence and his own destructive tendencies - these were the real life opponents Tapia fought time and time again. A far cry from the ring where he reigned supreme.

Johnny Tapia was the poster boy for dichotomy. He was an addict and champion; an uncaring fiend one minute and an earnest and loving friend the next; he had a gregarious personality that seemed content only when walking that fine line between exuberant life and the melancholy depths of despair and death. His inner demons really were too much to overcome. His upbringing was just too horrifying to forget. He was a champion in the ring and a troubled soul outside it. The two halves of his life were never meant to reconcile one with the other - sadly, I feel that he has finally found the sweet release from life that he seemed always grasping for.

His achievements in the ring were glorious. His skills as a boxer were legendary. His life, however, will seem in retrospect the cold dregs of a tortured soul as it failed in miserable fashion to provide him with even the semblance of security and love he so desperately needed.

I wish I had had the opportunity to know this man or to have at least had his confidence as I suspect he had much to say about the subject of life. I do not know how I would have felt about him as he was notoriously volatile and prone to wild swings of emotion. However, as a fan of the sport he was certainly worthy of our respect as a ring warrior of the highest order, a giant little man who thrilled sporting fans the world over. Not having had the privilege of knowing him personally, I choose to remember him this way - arms raised above his head in victory, an infectious smile upon his scarred face. The smile always seemed so genuine, as if he were for a few moments released from the private hell of the rest of his life.

Rest in peace Johnny Tapia

58-5-2
30 KOs
3 Division Champion

A New Perspective

I am sorry that I hadn't thought about this blog the past month but so much has gone on that I wonder how I could have made time for it. A quick rundown might make even the bravest of men quake in fear..my wife has had two operations in as many weeks, my uncle was killed, a doctor damaged a nerve in my foot, my daughter has three deadly food allergies, and I am in the process of completing a cultural heritage program while simultaneously beginning my masters education in history. Add to that my children and writing for Howard related projects and I can honestly tell you that I've been busy.

My last post was about my uncle's homicide and while I do not regret my initial reaction I must accept that it certainly didn't make for "good" reading. In retrospect, perhaps this wasn't the best place to report on his avoidable demise. If, however, you are wondering what has happened since my last post I am happy to report that my family has sought legal counsel and is moving forward to extract justice for his unwarranted murder.

As far as my family problems there seems to be a silver lining to my wife's pain. For three weeks, I hobbled around on my bad feet and attempted to be both daddy and mommy to my three children. This proved to be both difficult and rewarding. When my son Max was born it was clear that he and I would be bonded in a way that every father and son should be. When my twin daughters were born I was happy but detached. I was working, going to school and in the middle of a relocation that left me and the girls with little "daddy" time. These past weeks represented an opportunity to be a father to them in the same way I was for Max. It's amazing how much we can learn about ourselves in times of crisis, both big and small. We are all better for this time together, closer and in a kind of harmony that I had not believed possible. I am becoming as close to my girls as I have always been with my son and I like it. A lot.

So, forgive me my emotional roller-coaster. It's been a hard year for the grub. Thank God for my family and friends for helping me through all of this.

My next post will focus on one of my favorite series, written by John Maddox Roberts, entitled the Stormland series. This is without a doubt the best pentalogy I have ever read. I pulled all 5 volumes off of my shelf and will review each one in the coming months. I' also have some Robert E. Howard news to post in the coming weeks.

So, while it may seem business as usual - it is, but with a sad  salute to what we all endure in our lives. To my uncle Eugene Benedict Gruber, I am going to miss you dearly. There's so much about life that we cannot control but as he would say, "Hell's Bells, Chris! Tell me something that I don't know - wouldja?"

Eugene Gruber - My Uncle or "Don't Even Act Like You Might Resist"

I had no idea you were in this kind of trouble, Gene. If I had known I would have helped like I've done in the past, kept you from this ridiculous end at the hands of those butchers. You've always let me know when you were in too deep for your own good and I've always come for you - why not this time? Why didn't you or anyone else let me know what was happening? Where you were? All I knew from my dad was that you were in County lock up for a few months. Gene - why didn't you let me know it was serious?

This post is not a eulogy or a remembrance - that will come later. Right now, I am partly numb with shock and shaking with rage over the tragic death/murder of my uncle. I am posting a video that shows my uncle receiving a broken neck from corrections officials as well as the accompanying Chicago Tribune article that recounts his last months on earth as a result of their barbaric brutality.

If you are one of the "brave" men on this video - please...visit me, man to man, and we will sort out our differences, I promise.

Both the video and the article can be found here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-lake-county-inmate-death-eugene-gruber,0,1431801.story

Of course, there are at least a dozen other articles that you could find with a simple search.

By Lisa Black Tribune reporter

7:24 p.m. CDT, April 10, 2012

The death of a former Lake County jail inmate paralyzed after an altercation with a corrections officer has been ruled a homicide by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, prompting the state’s attorney’s office to call for a special prosecutor to investigate the case, officials said Tuesday.

Eugene Gruber, 51, of Grayslake, died March 3 from pneumonia which resulted from paraplegia following spine injuries suffered in an altercation, according to his death certificate.

“In light of the medical examiner’s findings, the state’s attorney’s office is going to be requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor to review the investigation and whether or not there should be any charges,” said Christen Bishop, chief of special investigations for the Lake County office.

Before Gruber’s death, Lake County prosecutors determined there were no grounds for criminal charges against staff members involved. The legal definition of “homicide” is broadly defined as the killing of one human being by another but does not necessarily mean the act was criminal.

James Sotos, an attorney representing the sheriff’s office, said the homicide ruling does not suggest any wrongdoing by jail employees.

“There’s nothing in this report that in any way is intended to suggest any kind of wrongdoing, culpability or liability, and it would be a disservice to interpret it that way,” Sotos said. “The finding of homicide means only that the cause of death is attributable to someone else’s act. So beyond that, it doesn’t really add anything to what is already known.”

Gruber died at Chicago rehabilitation hospital about four months after being injured during a brief incarceration.

Jail staff members described Gruber as drunk and combative when he was brought in on Oct. 31 after a disorderly conduct and trespassing arrest. Guards pepper-sprayed Gruber and then used a neck-twisting “take-down” measure while struggling to change his clothes, according to the state's attorney's report.

Over the next 24 hours, Gruber complained that he couldn't move his legs and was carried around, sometimes with his legs dragging, as guards tried to take his mug shot. He was not taken to the hospital until the next day, when his condition deteriorated.

Once at Vista Medical Center East, doctors determined Gruber suffered paralysis from a broken neck and performed two surgeries, records show. He was undergoing rehabilitation and being weaned off a ventilator before he died, his family’s lawyer has said.

Gruber's sister, Eileen Siwula, has filed a federal lawsuit against numerous jail officials and employees of Correct Care Solutions, the jail's health care provider. A Correct Care nurse was fired in part for reportedly failing to assess Gruber properly.

Correctional officers did not initially document the physical altercation with Gruber in their required daily reports, according to the state’s attorney’s report.

“You look at the numbers of officers who were there and they can’t control one drunk?” said Charles Gruber, Eugene’s cousin, who is also a former police chief. The homicide ruling came as no surprise, he said.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran has said that he is reviewing the incident to see whether it was handled in accordance with department policies.

Gruber's death is the second tied to the jail since January, when inmate Lyvita Gomes, 52, who had shown signs of mental illness, died after a 15-day hunger strike.

Curran announced last Friday that he intended to spend a week in jail as a “show of faith” in his corrections personnel. But on Monday, he canceled the plan at his lawyer’s request, Sotos said.

It's been some time since my last update. In that time I've been writing fiction, rehabilitating a nerve injury, and transcribing personal letters to Word documents. Mark Finn, my fellow Howardian junkie, has let loose with the Howard low-down over at his blog: http://marktheaginghipster.blogspot.com/

The fiction is a smattering of work that covers several genres and includes more than one type of media. I'm continuting to chronicle the adventures of Main 'Mwi, the half Miami scout that first debuted in the anthology dedicated to Robert E. Howard, called Dreams in the Fire. I've received a good deal of positive feedback regarding this character and the story, Dead River Revenge. The creative well for this character is very deep and I can't imagine running out of ideas for this historical-weird series. Yeah, I know, you want to know what the hell an historical-weird tale is? It's exactly what it sounds like; a crossroads of history and the weird pulp tale.

The second piece of fiction I've been working on is meant for the comic book format. The title (tentative) is Myth-Hunter and it records the adventure of the paranormal investiagtor, Alexander Dagda. He's a cross between Robert E. Howard's hard-boiled detective Steve Harrison and Dylan Dog (the Italian comic or even the Dark Horse version.) Look, I know this particular road has been traveled before but I think there have been many alleys left undiscovered. I like what I have written and I certainly like the world I have placed Dagda in. It's a concotion of all the pagan, literary, and historically unidentiafiable myths I've always been fascinated with. I'm an historian and I like to think that I create a believable sense of the arcane that has been missing from much of this genres recent represetatives. Besides, who doesn't like Lovecraftian allusions tempered with real world occult mysteries? This adventure has it all; modern Druids, Cthulian possibilities, Howardesque action and a frantic pace that that allows me to really dig deep without becoming boring.
FYI - I'm looking for an illustrator!

That's all for now.

Howard Boxing Volume Update

It's been awhile since my last post and for that I apologize. It's just that I've got so many darned things going on that I sometimes lose track of time and, invariably, something suffers. As you all know, I've been working hard on producing the four volume "Complete Boxing Stories" collection with fellow Howard scholars Mark Finn and Patrice Louinet. Well buckos, some very interesting developments have taken place that may affect our project. Don't panic! Let's just say that things have gotten very interesting of late - and it's all positive. Keep your eyes peeled for the next update

Volume Two - Almost There!

Good news Howard fans! Volume two of the complete boxing stories of Robert E. Howard is nearing the finish line. Volume two is full of surprises and there are several that will knock your socks off. I'm sorry, I can't give too much away but with Patrice and Mark handling the essays and introductions for this volume I am certain you won't be disappointed. More news coming soon ...yes, that means volume three is on my radar!

This is NOT the cover of the boxing project volumes.

It's the cover of the book I edited (Boxing Stories - Robert E. Howard) 

for Bison Books, beautifully crafted by master artist Gary Gianni.

Happy Birthday, Robert E. Howard

Happy Birthday, Robert E. Howard

It was 106 years ago, on January 22nd, that Robert E. Howard was born. It would be another 23 years before he would create the most profitable character during his short lifetime - Sailor Steve Costigan and his sidekick Mike the bulldog - and several more years before Conan would sweep through the pages of Weird Tales and into the minds and hearts of millions.

I know that I speak for all Robert E. Howard fans when I say that our lives, and indeed the world itself, would be far less interesting without his imaginative genius.

Long live the memory of America's greatest fantasist - Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)