Muhammad Ali was born January 17, 1942 and died June 3, 2016. Ali changed the world. I had occasion to meet the champ in 1964 when he trained at the Concord, upstate New York. My uncle, Jerry Lisker was sports editor for the Post and Murdock publications. He brought my father and me to see Ali train. There were seats for 10 people. Boxing was not my thing and I got up to leave as Ali was skipping rope. Ali stopped skipping, screwed on a face of annihilation and glared at me. I slunk back into my chair and the next moment he smiled and laughed. Later, he hugged me and we spoke. From that moment I was a fan of “the greatest of all time.” The following are poems and muses of Muhammad Ali.
To make America the greatest is my goal
So I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole
And for the USA won the medal of gold.
The Greeks said you’re better than the Cassius of old.
We like your name, we like your game.
So make Rome your home if you will.
I said I appreciate your kind hospitality,
But the USA is my country still,
‘Cause they’re waiting to welcome me in Louisville.
Quotes
- The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
- Religions all have different names, but they all contain the same truths. … I think the people of our religion should be tolerant and understand that people believe different things.
- Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn’t belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.
- Wouldn’t it be a beautiful world if just 10 percent of the people who believe in the power of love would compete with one another to see who could do the most good for the most people?
- Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.
- In a competition of love we’ll all share in the victory, no matter who comes first.
David Frost: What would you like people to think about you when you’ve gone?
Muhammad Ali: I’d like for them to say:
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.
