On Friday, Muhammad Ali finally succumbed to Parkinson’s. As a contemporary of Ali, I followed his career from the Rumble in the Jungle to the Supreme Court case for his failing to enlist during the Vietnam war. I sympathized with his plight. As a kid, I saw aircraft carriers bringing thousands of soldiers to fight in Vietnam–many of them never coming back home. I watched Bob Hope at Christmas time telling jokes and showcasing beautiful women to entertain troops for the holidays. His show always made me cry. Later, I soon began to have acquaintances get killed. They were 18 and 19 years old. That really struck a nerve.
That was a long time ago, and as I read Ali’s obituary in the NY Times, it gives me pause to remember. He was a great man. Full of himself, confident, sarcastic, mischievous and a pacifist. He was a poet. Besides his famous “float light a butterfly, sting like a bee” slogan, many of his writings were profound and philosophical. When David Frost interviewed him in 1974 and asked “what do you want people to say about you when you’re gone?” Ali’s response:
He took a few cups of love.
He took one tablespoon of patience,
One teaspoon of generosity,
One pint of kindness.
He took one quart of laughter,
One pinch of concern.
And then, he mixed willingness with happiness.
He added lots of faith,
And he stirred it up well.
Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime,
And he served it to each and every deserving person he met.
Later when I got married to Richard and became a stepmom to Chris and Rich, we were in Encinitas at A&A Electronics. Ali knew the owner Al Aladry and was visiting the store. As we walked out the front door, Ali was getting into his limousine. We spotted the great champ and I said to my son, “it’s Ali…ask him for an autograph.” Being shy, I stepped forward and asked politely, “may my son have your autograph Mr. Ali.” His bodyguard intervened, but Ali stepped further out of the car. Chris handed him the paper that I had found in my purse, and Ali signed his name. Chris’ face just lit up, as he stood in awe of the incredible mass of a man in front of him. Ali smiled at us and with hands shaking said “thank you.” It’s funny how this one brief encounter can make me feel a closeness to the him. I believe it was the power of his spirit. Chris still has Ali’s autograph and the memory of meeting the greatest boxer of all time.
