When Muhammad Ali's Twinkle Shown Brightest

[+ WilliamM]

RIP to truly great man.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/sports/when-muhammad-alis-twinkle-shone-brightest.html?ribbon-ad-idx=3&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article

[bigvalboy]

Thanks WillamM

 

Met him a few times in his declining years. He was always a class act. I remember some decades ago when the decline had already started. I was getting out of my car to go shopping in Burbank. Ali pulled up with is daughter in tow. Within a few minutes everyone realized that he was in the store shopping. People came running up wanting autographs and pictures. No one had a camera, so he bought a dozen or so those little throw away cameras and gave them out so everyone could take pictures with him. He must have stayed out in the parking lot for a half hour or so, just chatting with all the kids...What a gracious and kind man.

[+ WilliamM]

Met him a few times in his declining years. He was always a class act. I remember some decades ago when the decline had already started. I was getting out of my car to go shopping in Burbank. Ali pulled up with is daughter in tow. Within a few minutes everyone realized that he was in the store shopping. People came running up wanting autographs and pictures. No one had a camera, so he bought a dozen or so those little throw away cameras and gave them out so everyone could take pictures with him. He must have stayed out in the parking lot for a half hour or so, just chatting with all the kids...he was gracious and generous with his time.

 

I remember some of his very early interviews with Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show" before he beat Sonny Liston. You may remember that Liston was the overwhelming favorite. Muhammad Ali changed the lives of many African American the night he bear Sonny. Jack Paar never told Ali to "settle down now" again.

[+ dutchmuch]

"float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"

 

Rest in peace Cassius Clay.

[marylander1940]

 

Here's another one who dodged draft, yet manifested for others not to do it..

 

Btw one of this kids compared leaving his job to campaign with his dad in 2012 with serving in the military... I guess travelling on a bus, eating at highway dinners, and staying in a motel is tough life

 

[+ deej]

There is a forum for politics. Please respect the departed.

[+ WilliamM]

There is a forum for politics. Please respect the departed.

 

Thanks

[JayCeeKy]

Here in Louisville, of course, Ali was often just called "The Champ." Many people don't know that Ali was initially rejected by the Selective Service because of his difficulty with spelling and reading. He graduated from Central High School something like 349 out of 350. It was only after the draft (needing more more in Vietnam) lowered their reading standards that Ali was drafted. The U.S. Army measured Ali’s IQ at 78 - but, if you listen to his poetry, off-the-cuff remarks, and fund of general knowledge, you would quickly realize that IQ scores don't necessarily indicate mental acuity. In his autobiography he said, “I only said I was the greatest, not the smartest." A humble, funny, caring, (and yes, gentle) man who made the world a better place.