I dreamed of my father last night (regarding Muhammad Ali)

[WilliamPitt]

I dreamed of my father last night. He died in February, but in the dream he was coming to visit. It was one of those frustration dreams where you can't get anything done, and also one of those dreams that keeps coming back after it wakes you up and you go back to sleep. I finally gave up and went out to watch some TV. That's when I learned Muhammad Ali was gone.

My father and I met Ali in the lobby of the Parker House Hotel in Boston. I was seven years old, and my Dad was a rabid Ali fan. Ali was, of course, standing in a crowd, so my father hoisted me onto his shoulders and bulled through the mob ... and there I was, face to face with The Greatest. He glowered at me, went "Boo!" and then smiled that megawatt smile. I said "Hi Champ!" and shook his massive hand.

My father and I made many memories together, but I think he'd agree that meeting Muhammad Ali was our mutual all-time favorite. Now, I'm no moonbeamer, but as I sat and watched the coverage in the darkness of the early morning, I remembered the dream I'd had and realized something: My father did visit me last night to bring me the news. I could even hear his voice: "Son ... wake up, son ... The Champ went down."

Losing Muhammad Ali was a little like losing my father all over again, but I have that Parker House memory along with a new one: An unexpected visit in the night. I can live with that.

Rest easy, Champ.

[uppityperson]

1. Few of these famous people dying bother me, but this one does. He was a good man and

influenced a lot of us in so many ways.

[Rex]

2. He never pulled any punches.

“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.”

[madinmaryland]

3. I remember watching several of the epic fights in the early to mid 1970's with my Dad. Even

with Howard Cosell announcing Ali always had total command of the fight and the situations in general. I was not a real fan of his, but always respected him. I ended up losing interest in boxing after he retired followed by Joe Frazier and George Foreman.

[malaise]

4. Beautifully written

Thanks WilliamPitt

[dhill926]

5. great story....

thanks for sharing....

[MrMickeysMom]

6. Reunion...

... Thanks for that story, Will!

[Hoyt]

7. In the first Frazier vs. Ali fight, my dad was a Frazier fan -- being that Ali was "a loud mouth and

stood up to the government as he did." I understood, I suppose, because my dad was a WWII vet and grew up in that time when people weren't loud. Anyway, my dad took me to the closed circuit telecast. We had two choices -- The Dinkler Plaza hotel or the bigger Memorial Auditorium. Dad choose the Dinkler Plaza because it was "less likely to be an unruly crowd," or something Archie Bunker might say like that.

Well we sat down among a bunch or unruly white yahoos, one of whom threw a chair that I just managed to duck. Several other punches were throw, and some pretty ugly things were yelled.

After that fight, I went by myself to the Memorial Auditorium to see other Ali fights on closed circuit. Had the best time because everyone there was a big Ali fan.

At the Ali/Foreman fight, I sat next to a guy who looked just like Floyd Patterson. We talked about how we were afraid Ali might be hurt and stuff like that. After the fight we danced and hugged, along with everyone. We never expected Ali to win, but we sure wanted him to.

Ali changed the way I looked at a lot of things. To this day, I like to workout on the heavy bag and dance as best I can. I think Ali changed my dad a bit too.

Great OP.

[Donkees]

8. "The Champ went down"

The Champ is floating like a butterfly

[Eleanors38]

9. Fathers have a way of visiting you when in need.

[RobertEarl]

10. All the old men

Times were that a man was judged on who was the toughest and who could kick the most butt. I guess to a degree it is still that way in many places, but back then it was the religion.

Came then this black man who was the world champ. Not only could he kick anyone's butt, he was as sweet as pecan pie. Men had to think twice when they considered themselves as the champ. If they did, they now knew they were not. It was a humbling experience for many.

Thank you, Sir Ali, for the lessons you taught America.

[gademocrat7]

11. What a wonderful memory.

[brush]

12. Nice post. Thank you for sharing that.

I too have been grieving the loss of the champ, I realize it's more than that though as I lost my wife last year.

It's a sad day.

[Mira]

13. Thanks for the telling, Will, and listen to this:

I was cooking this pm and listening to all the memorials and memories and not being a fan of boxing, just a huge fan of Muhammad Ali, I can't tell you who told this story. Except it was one of his main boxing coaches, with whom he never had a contract. Just a handshake.

That man said his wife came out of the shower this morning, saying with round eyes: There is a huge Butterfly in our bathroom.

[hopemountain]

16. shivers & goose bumps! nt

[japple]

14. A beautiful dream, memory, and tribute to a remarkable man. This is

one of the most touching posts I've ever seen on DU and the best from Will Pitt. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Enthusiast]

15. What Muhammad Ali said about Vietnam was so perfect!

May he RIP.

[hopemountain]

17. a beautiful story, thank you for sharing with us.

[arikara]

18. The loss of Ali makes me think of my Dad too

Dad was in a boxing tournament, I don't remember the year but I'm sure I could go through some of his old stuff and figure it out. He wasn't feeling great that day, he said he was coming down with a cold or something. He'd had one fight which he won, then they threw him right back into the ring with no rest to fight with a fellow he'd beaten before. He lost that one on a split decision. The other guy went on to fight Cassius Clay in the tournament. Dad never turned pro, but he was Golden Gloves several times.

Dad was an old time gentleman boxer like Ali, and like my grandfather who was his trainer. He always stuck up for the little guy and for what he believed was right. Even though Dad was white, his physical similarity to Ali is striking, in fact the Mr just hollered from the TV room how much he looked like Dad. Dad developed dementia very young likely exacerbated from the head injuries he received from boxing, just like Ali's Parkinson's. We lost Dad just last year and Ali's passing sure brings it back. It is a sad day indeed.

[Skittles]

19. the news made me think of my dad too, William

like yours, my dad was a "rabid Ali fan"........so many of our dads were