Seldom written about any before, but we’ve met famous people; astronauts, authors, athletes, presidents, movie stars. One always transcended any, though unlike most he always had time and never thought he wore a halo. THE most famous person on earth, one of the finest humanitarians and athletes, probably ever. HISTORY. And multiple times he was just playing around with my sons, Jody and Adam, performing sleight-of-hand, shadow-boxing, talking, and later, just listening. And he was that way with every kid. In everything we were privileged to see, in the ring or the societal arena, lighting the room or enlightening the planet, even amidst the pain of Parkinson’s, he was the personification of grace and caring. The quintessential man.
But also, the most innovative showman ever, and, even later, still Ali. One summer, a few years ago, Jody was invited to interview Ali at his house in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Ali’s wife Lonnie informed Jody, unfortunately Ali was having a bad day with the Parkinson’s. That afternoon, Ali was physically drained, and she said it was very difficult for him to talk or sit up. So she talked with Jody and, with great effort, Muhammad Ali just listened. When Jody showed her the old pictures of Jody and Ali through the years (I attached samples), she insisted it would make Ali feel better if Jody shared each of the pix with him. Ali looked at them one-by-one. He signaled he wanted to say something. His wife bent over so she could hear him. Instead, Ali slowly sat up and beckoned Jody closer. Jody leaned over, and the most famous mouth in the world, very softly and deliberately said, “Since then, I got prettier, but what happened to you?” Jody got rope-a-doped. And Jody loved it.