Produced by the I-Lab at W-B-U-R Boston.

This is Kind World from W-B-U-R.

Jim Gray no longer looks like the athlete he used to be. He uses a walker to get

around. His legs sometimes give him trouble. But Jim still remembers the days he

used to strap on boxing gloves and climb into the ring.

I fought for Ulster.

Oh, it did a fought against Germany.

And boxing?

Uh-huh.

Well, don't be boxing me today if I do anything wrong, okay?

Jim is bantering with his friend Lenny White.

It's not the first time Lenny's heard about Jim's boxing days. He's heard about them many times before, because Jim, in the early stages of dementia, repeats himself.

And the very younger day I used to box, you know.

I fought for allsters, so I did.

The unlikely friendship between 37 year old-old Lenny and 81-year-old gym began just this year.

But Lenny's work with the elderly dates back 20 years,

when he was a dishwasher at what the Irish call a care home.

Even though he had a passion for caregiving,

he decided to pursue a more lucrative career.

He spent nearly two decades working in sales. but Lenny wanted a job that would give him a sense of purpose.

I knew that I was called for something, but I didn't know what?

In his search, he learned about a course to become a barber.

...