Today, I met a man named, Philip Carter. Philip tells me he is a 1st cousin to Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. I don’t know much about boxing, but I when I search about him, turns out there is a movie that came out in 1999 about him, played by Denzel Washington.
Philip also tells me that he was quite the boxer in his day as well with a record of 58 wins and 16 losses. He was at one point in his life the Number 6 seed in the world for his Middleweight boxing class.
He expresses remorse for some decisions in his life that dragged him down, more specifically alcohol and women. Philip shared with me that he went from, “Riches to rags”. And today, he was just let out from surgery in the hospital with a bag full of medicine. He has prostate cancer with doctors telling him he has 2 months to live.
As sobering as that news can be, Philip still makes himself available to others. He says that you can find him at Lord of the Streets ( 3401 Fannin St, Houston, Tx 77004 ) teaching an exercise class.
He wants everyone to know, especially kids, to stay in school and church. Stay away from drugs and alcohol. He warns that while he was on top of the world, he was caught into the mix of living the fast life, and is now actually homeless and living on the streets.
With 2 months to live, Philip hopes to just have some peace in preferably watching or at the very least listening to the Texans football games. He does not have a radio nor a place to watch the games. If anyone has a radio, please find Philip at Lord of the Streets. Alternatively, he can take donations to stay at a place for $16/day.