The History Lesson
First, the history part: This week back in 1967, Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in prison. His most famous match… was against the U.S. military.
Round one was in 1964. Ali’s draft board declared he was physically able to serve in the army. But intellectually? Not so much. He flunked the aptitude test — some say on purpose. Even so, he got a draft exemption. But a couple years later came round two. The Vietnam War had escalated, and so had the army’s need for soldiers. They lowered the minimum aptitude score and told Ali to report for induction.
He did. Now, the Army probably wouldn’t have sent the most famous athlete on Earth into actual combat. But, Ali felt war was against his Muslim faith. So when his name was called, he refused to step forward three times. Within minutes he was charged with draft dodging, and stripped of his boxing title.
Suddenly Ali symbolized two things many folks feared in the ‘60s: black pride and peaceniks. So he took a lot of flak. And he returned fire.
When his case came to trial the jury took just 20 minutes to return the verdict: guilty. Tied up in appeals, banned from the ring, Ali spent three of his prime years — giving lectures. Until public opinion turned against the war. In 1970, he was allowed to fight again. He won his first bout in three rounds. And a year later, he won his case in the Supreme Court… by unanimous decision!
The Booze
The Butterfly Sting
RECIPE (c) 2009 Natalie Bovis-Nelsen, TheLiquidMuse.com
Ingredients:
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
- 1 ounce honey syrup (1 part honey to 1 part water)
- 2 ounces apple juice
- Splash of club soda or nonalcoholic sparkling wine
Instructions:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle thyme and lemon juice. Then add honey syrup and apple juice. Shake and then strain into chilled martini glass and add club soda or non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Lay another thyme sprig across the surface of the drink for garnish. Float like a butterfly… and sting like a butterfly.
