ALI + ME!

I listened on the radio when he 

knocked out Sonny Liston, but

  I didn't meet Muhammad Ali until 1981 

when he was preparing to fight Trevor Berbick

 in the "DRAMA IN THE BAHAMS" in Nassau. 

It was Ali's comeback bout after losing to Larry Holmes.

We met a few times more. 

This picture from a charity event 

in Los Angeles in the early 1990's. 

The last time I saw Ali was in the mid 1990's

 at a reception for him at the LAX-Hilton. 

He was slowed by Parkinson's, 

but managed to "spar" for a few seconds

 when he entered the ballroom.

 The "champ" worked the room, met his fans.

He spent time talking with my wife and me and 

he graciously signed two pamphlets for my daughters 

and then floated towards the exit.

Ali stopped in the double-doorway 

and with his back turned to all of us, 

the champ stood there for a few moments 

and then "levitated." 

I know it was a trick, but I swear 

that I saw light between the floor and Ali's feet.

When he was convinced that we were all duly dazzled, 

the champ "descended" 

and walked down the hallway into the light.

He was always a showman, even with Parkinson's weighing him down and slowing him up. The disease could quiet his huge voice, and slow his incredible motor skills, but it could never steal his mind, his humor, or his compassion for others.

From a distance, 

I learned a lot of lessons from Muhammad Ali 

and none of them had anything to do with boxing.

You will be greatly missed, champ, 

and you will always be 

"THE GREATEST".

**