The Biographies: The Story of Avalanche: Continued.

Fighting seemed to come naturally to James. He earned the name Avalanche after an especially brutal fight against a man named Gretto Farve. After the fight, Gretto remarked, "I don't know how to explain it...he was like an avalanche coming down a mountain...yeah...he's the avalanche of our arena." The name didn't stick directly, until I was crushed underneath him one night after he fell on me coming down the stairs of his apartment. "Jesus, James," I growled, "You really are an avalanche." Finally, the name stuck. Since then, James has been referred to as Avalanche and probably will continue to be for the rest of his fighting days.
Racing has also been in important part of James' life. His grandfather, Carver, use to take him out on the side roads and dirt tracks behind his mansion, making for a quick lesson in speed and handling. "He was one of the best drivers I had ever seen," Carver commented, "and all of my racer buddies knew it." Carver later acknowledged that his racer "buddies" were very fond of James, and often took him out in their own vehicles to show him how to handle them. James learned from the best in the state, and in some cases, the best in the country. Carver was present at James' first street race and can recount it in alot of detail.
"He pulled up the starting line in a 67' Shelby GT 500 that I had purchased in my youth and kept up with all these years. It was the only one in Upstate New York at the time and was completely loaded with NOS. Value of the car? Ah...somewhere in the area of about 75 large. That's not the point though...he pulled up next to a Vipe, and next to the vipe was a lowered car of some type. The Vipe was good competition but the other car was a foreign thing and we all know that a Dodge or a Ford is the way to go. Well, let me tell you what, James lit the tires and pulled off the line only about a foot ahead of the Vipe and flames shot out the rear of the Shelby...and that's about the time the tires came rolling off. He had forgotten to take off the break before he started. The car was ruined and James was so embarassed that he didn't return to the streets for at least 2 more years."
And Carver was correct. James abandoned the streets for 2 years, so ashamed of the accident with the Shelby that he spent the entire 2 years training for the races, learning to drive anything with wheels.

To be continued...