My Evening With Ali

The Champ

 December 6, 2003 at the historic Miami Beach Convention Center.  A milestone; an unforgettable event. I not only met Muhammed Ali, I celebrated with Hollywood superstars like Will Smith and singing legend Etta James.

This wasn't something I planned. I was living and working in Fort Lauderdale as editor of The Nationwide News and was invited to cover Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The event is a global art marketplace where you stroll around gallery exhibitions loaded with the works of Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Freda Kahlo and so many others. The parking lot was packed with Bentleys, Rolls, and Italian sports cars, all suggesting this wasn't a place for me to buy some Christmas gifts.

The New York firm handling media asked me if I'd like to attend a private party for Muhammad Ali, a soiree in the building where Ali defeated Sonny Liston. It was a black tie affair,  part of a promotion of a 75 pound book, The Greatest of All Time.

Etta James sang "At Last"

The stage was a boxing ring. By design, everything appeared as it did on the night the young man from Louisville then named Cassius Clay, won his title. The ringmaster was Hollywood actor Will Smith who portrayed Ali in a movie. Guests from the world of sports, music, movies, TV were everywhere. Even some of those boxers Ali defeated like George Foreman were at ringside.

The Champ, as everyone called Ali, was inside a replica of his old VW bus, cheerfully receiving those who wanted to meet him. I was one of the fortunate, spending a few moments of small talk. 

I left after his aide gave me an autographed print book, a remembrance by Ali's publisher. I embraced it like it was a copy of the Magna Carta.

One Print in the Book

One other highlight. Etta James and her band provided entertainment. When the Champ entered the ring, she sang her signature love song, "At Last."

My next encounter with the great man was just after his death. I visited his grave in Louisville in a cemetery dominated by marble sculpture and angels looking to heaven. Colonel Harlan Sanders, the founder of KFC, is buried nearby. The line was long. Many were children carrying flowers. Some wept. I stood, said a few words of gratitude and marveled at his humble headstone, polished black granite with one name: ALI

The inscription is embedded in my soul.

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room in heaven."