In the summer of '88, my dad wanted to take a trip to the Higbee's department store in downtown Cleveland, where the Horseshoe Casino now stands. The plan was to take the train downtown, have some lunch at the historic Silver Grill, explore the area, and do some window shopping.
Coincidentally, my dad had read in the newspaper that morning that a man named Muhammad Ali was also going to be at Higbee's signing autographs and taking pictures for a promotion of his cologne that was just released. As soon as we arrived at the department store, we could see the line for a chance to meet this man was stretching throughout the entire floor. My mom asked my dad if he was interested in waiting in line, but he decided against it realizing that toting me, an impatient 3-year-old, throughout the endless queue wasn't realistic. He thought that simply catching a glimpse of the man would be exciting enough.
We made our way up to Silver Grill without any sightings of him. The line twisted around too many corners to see the final destination. After we finished eating, we spent some time wandering through Higbee's and took a stroll outside to see the Terminal Tower and the Soldiers' and Sailors' monument.
Eventually we made our way back to Higbee's to head home. While we were walking towards the entrance of the train platform, my dad stopped when he noticed a giant of a man and his entourage walking in our direction. The giant was hugging the enamored women and shaking men's hands with an electric smile never leaving his face. His charismatic aura could be felt throughout the entire area as he made his way through the crowd in a bright blue tailored suit.
As he got closer to my family and I, the man ceased the procession of admiring fans when he saw me. He walked up to my tiny frame and got down to my level on his knees. Looking at me for a brief moment, he put his fists up and started playfully throwing air punches in my direction. I stood there wide-eyed and motionless not knowing who he was or why his behemoth-sized fists were moving all around me. He then smiled and embraced me with a hug, stood up, patted my sister on the top of her head, shook my dad's hand and the walked away without a single word spoken.
Once my dad was able to pick his jaw off the floor we made our way home. He wanted to make sure the moment I just had with that man was something I would never forget, so the first thing he did when we got back home was dig out an old issue of Life magazine and flipped through some pages to find the iconic photo of Ali standing over Sonny Liston after he knocked him out in the first round. He sat me down and pointed at the image of Ali screaming at Liston to stand back up.
"You see this man? This is Muhammad Ali. He changed the world and you just met him. You can never forget this day," he told me.
As I grew up, my dad would continuously remind me the importance of the giant who threw punches in my direction. He wanted me to know that I didn't just stand before some legendary athlete, but a symbol of hope during one of the country's most turbulent times. That when too many young men my dad's age were being sent to Southeast Asia, Ali was his shining light to the injustice of the war. That even through governmental persecution, you could conquer the world, and that through debilitating illness, you could still be the strongest person alive.
And, of course, I learned that no matter how giant he was in person or in the ring, he would always make time to try and put a smile on a child's face.
Eight years after meeting him, we joined the entire world in awe as we watched the champ light the flame in the '96 Olympics. As he carried the torch, my dad tapped my shoulder and once again reminded me to never forget. Today, I can safely say that his lifelong mission was a success. The years have passed since our chance encounter along with my memory of it, but I will never forget that I stood before greatness. Muhammad Ali was a lion, he was The Greatest Of All Time, he was the voice of the voiceless, an inspiration to the countless, and my personal hero ever since his beautiful universe crossed paths with mine back in the summer of '88.