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Muhammad Ali


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Hey Dr T. would you mind if I reposted your except here, rather than sending people to Facebook?  Alternatively can you pots and your site and send people there.

One of the missions of this site is to uplift independent websites.

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@Dr T, I'm not saying you can't link Facebook (though I'm obviously not a fan of this).  I just think it is important for people link to their own sites or post the content here, and to understand why it is important.

Below is Dr. T.'s excerpt:

With the Champ's passing, this excerpt from the chapter "Muhammad Ali" takes on new poignancy for me:

whitemansdisease.jpg...as mentioned, (my brother) Calvin had a personal and professional association with Muhammad Ali. Calvin had a business relationship with Ali’s manager and met Ali through that connection. One day Calvin called me from Vegas, ostensibly to check in on me and see how I was progressing... Dorey answered and handed me the phone, “Calvin is on the phone.”

“Yo man,” I said.

“How are you feeling?” The voice on the other end was very soft-spoken, deliberate, and somewhat halting. It was not Calvin but was very familiar sounding. “This is Muhammad Ali.”

I damn near fell out of my chair. My mind was racing trying to determine what I should say to arguably the most well-known man in the world. If I was standing, I’m sure my knees would be knocking. I responded, “Hi.” How profound!

For the next few minutes I listened intently as Muhammad Ali spoke. To be honest, I could barely make out what he said. Although in 1985 Ali looked vibrant and healthy—still “pretty” as he would so often refer to himself whenever a microphone was stuck in his face—there is no question he was already starting to noticeably deteriorate in terms of verbalization; despite the fact that he was cognitively sharp. Ali was so soft spoken and difficult to hear his every word, that I wasn’t sure when he was about to conclude. I sensed he was coming to the end of his comments by a subtle change in his inflection.

So, my mind started racing with how I should articulate my honor, gratitude and sincere appreciation to Ali for calling me and wishing me well. Then he said something that I will hold onto for the rest of my life; it was the only thing I can quote verbatim from his difficult to comprehend, very soft-spoken, slightly slurred words.

“I will pray for you..." (read additional excerpts from White Man’s Disease here)

drt-photo-of-ali.jpg

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