"The Greatest"

I planned on writing an entry about some of the favorite quotes that I've heard and noted in my life. I realized that a good number were from Muhammad Ali. I also realized that the "King of the World" deserved his own piece. I have the others somewhere and I'm sure they'll make it in another post.

My mother met the Champ about 16 yrs ago, I remember it was April 1st because she called me to tell me the story and I thought she was trying to pull one over on me. He called her over and asked to take a picture with her. The Champ asked to take a picture with my mother. It's actually in my apartment and I'm loking at it right now. Here's the story about how the picture came to be:

My mother was working at the Westin Hotel in Waltham when I started high school. This was a beautiful hotel that was built on I-95 on a hill and was just a striking building when you drove thru Waltham. Part of her job was to arrange the different business events that took place at the hotel. One event had Muhammad Ali as the guest speaker for a room full of "suits". My mother met him at the front of the hotel when he arrived in his limo. She quickly grabbed hold of him and said: "Ali!, it is a pleasure to meet you, Welcome to the Weston Hotel". She then escorted him to the room where "the suits" were waiting. When she opened the door and walked in with him, the room fell silent. No one said a word. This was definately an awkward moment. It was at this point that my mother understood that it was she who would introduce Ali, The "King of the World" to this large group of white men in suits. She cleared her throat, asked the room for attention and said "Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce, the greatest world champion of all time, Joe Frasier!!". Well you can imagine that the entire room gasped for air --but Ali thought it was the funniest thing he seen in a long time, knowing fully that my mother had pulled a fast one (rembember it was April fools day) on this group of "suits" today. Later in the afternoon when he was taking pictures and signing autographs he stopped, called her over, and had HIS personal photographer take the most beautiful picture of the two of them together at a table. That professional picture was later mailed to my mother and is now framed in my apartment.

By the way, if you're looking for a nice gift to give someone on your list this year, David Remnick's "King of the World" may be a great book option.

Below are a few quotes that I've appreciated from "The Greatest":

"Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life."

"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."

"I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on."

"I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark."

"If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you."

"If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize."

"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."

"When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble."

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."