You’ll have to forgive me. . .
in fact, you might want to skip this all together. . .
it’s a long clip
and I wouldn’t be blame you if you didn’t watch this 11 minute clip of
Billy Crystal’s famous
15 ROUNDS
depicting the life of Muhammad Ali
on his 5oth Birthday.
He died the other day some 24 years later.
I’ve been a life-long fan of Ali
and met him one time
at the JACK CASINO
when it was then Higbee’s in 1988
Ali was promoting his new cologne,
A L I
I bought a bottle so I didn’t have to stand in a longer line of those
who didn’t buy a bottle of his cologne but still wanted to meet him.
He was up on a small stage that looked like an open end
of a boxing ring.
I didn’t know if it was the
Legend or the Man
that loomed so large in front of me.
He shook my hand with his
huge baseball mit of a hand
and asked me,
“WHAT DO YOU DO?”
I told him I was a minister. . .
“So am I,” he said. . .
“We both call our God’s by different names, but
H E I S O U R G O D”
We locked eyes for a brief moment
and I muttered out,
“Thanks, Champ.”
No. . .
it wasn’t
The G R E A T E S T
moment in my life
but it was a special one.
Ali’s truest fragrance wasn’t ever what he did in the ring
so much as what he did outside of the ring
being the truest kind of
Caring Catalyst
Who Cares
What Matters
. . . not for a profession
or a religious group
but for
o t h e r s
which is the best
r e l i g i o n
of all.
I’ll miss him
but will not grieve
what he’s done
or what will continue
because he made an all too brief visit
through the world
and made it a little better. . .
and inspired many
to do the same. . .
“I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way, but if I have changed even one life for the better, I haven’t lived in vain.” –Muhammad Ali