Bobby Hebb, boxing and life

I sat next to legendary musician Bobby Hebb in a Nashville soul food restaurant recently.

Here's what I remember most from what he said. When he moved from Nashville to New York City, he gained some understanding of what a boxer experiences in the ring.

He explained this way: Imagine you're in the ring and someone is throwing punches at you. You see a big left hook coming but instead of dancing or dodging, you step into the punch. By stepping into the punch, that blow that might have knocked you off of your feet becomes a hug.

And so it wasn't when he talked about boxing, it wasn't so much physical violence as it was a different way of thinking.