Dot Net Member Efren Bojorquez wrote the following guest blog on his personal interactions with Muhammad Ali, who died on Friday at age 74. Efren writes “The “Ef” Word” blog in the Dot Net Members’ blog section.
March 31, 1985. Muhammed Ali was introduced as the special guest referee for the main event at WrestleMania I. An incredible roar from the crowd, a swipe at Roddy Piper, MSG chanting “Ali! Ali!” and Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura selling it to no end.
December 14, 1985. My Dad is at LAX for an early flight and sees this man angrily slamming the receiver down on the pay phone, putting his dime in, and slamming it again. That phone would have been blushing had he heard what that man was saying.
My father (the Vietnam veteran, sports fan, and a man who will give you the shirt and pants off his body if you needed them) goes up to this very distressed man and says the following:
“Champ! What’s wrong?”
Yes sir, in a pre-cell phone 1984, The Great One needed to make a phone call.
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Ali: “None of these f’n phones are taking my dime!”
Dad (calmly): “Champ. Today is the day that the phone companies increased a pay phone call to twenty cents.”
Ali: (not as calmly): “F—! I only have a f—ing dime! I don’t even have f—ing cash on me!”
My father busts out his old school Pac-Man-looking change purse (the one he got from the credit union as a gift) and handed him every bit of change out of it.
Ali: “No, man. I only need another dime.”
Dad (insistent): “No, Champ. Take it all. You might have to make a few more calls later on today and I don’t want you to be without money.”
Ali: “Thank you, sir.”
Dad: “No problem, Champ. What else can I do for you?”
———
Ali happened to be in the newspaper that morning, and my father asked him if he would sign his newspaper to me. From what I have been told he was more than happy to do it, addressed it to me, and my Dad went on his way four dollars in coins lighter than he was 90 seconds ago.
Turns out my Dad had ANOTHER coin purse in his other pocket and proceeded to a different pay phone to call his seven year old son. You should have heard the giddiness in his voice:
“Muhammad Ali was banging the payphone because he didn’t know that the payphones had gone up and I gave him all my change! And I got his autograph for you, Ef! Isn’t that great?”
Me: “Gorilla Monsoon gave him an airplane spin. Did you see Gorilla or Hulk Hogan with him?”
Dad didn’t understand what I was talking about, but I truly knew that he was excited about meeting Ali after watching him all his life. While the autograph was for me, the moment was his.
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November 8, 2010. I am at the Cheesecake Factory in Phoenix waiting for a friend to show up when I see Ali, Lonnie, Laila, and a few others walking in.
I just couldn’t help myself:
Me: “Champ! Let me get the door for you!”
Parkinson’s had almost fully set in at this point. He was muted, but he was listening.
Me (as Lonnie stood next to him): “My Father gave you change at LAX twenty years ago. You only had a dime on the day the pay phone price increased. He saw you upset and handed you the change from his coin purse in case you needed to make more calls!”
Lonnie let out quite the guffaw and told her husband directly: “You needed change at LAX and his father gave you money because you didn’t have any!”
Pause…..
Hands up. Fighter’s stance. Fake jab to my cheek. It was as if my inner child was meeting Tigger for the first time at Disneyland. Yup, he was real. And he was right next to me.
I couldn’t resist. I asked for three seconds of his time for a picture. Of course it took longer, but I wanted to return the favor to my father, KNOWING he would love the story.
Lonnie: “SURE YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE!”
Omg…
My friend eventually came, we had drinks, and all I could talk about was what had just happened. Well I was over the moon, a single topic of conversation probably bored the hell out of him.
I called the waitress over and asked to pay for their table’s meal as a thank you for interrupting their evening. I handed my card over to the waitress and was awaiting the bill.
As I was finishing my drink Lonnie came up to my table and startled me:
Lonnie: “Thank you for offering to pay our bill, but we make it a point to NEVER allow anyone who sees us in public to ever do that. We appreciate the offer. Besides, after what your father did we actually owe YOU money!”
Boom. Instant Cloud 9. A great laugh and smile. A shake of the hand, a thank you, and I was on my way. I didn’t say goodbye to him or the rest of the family. I had bothered them enough.
I can’t make it to the car without calling my Dad.
Me: “Dad! Dad! Ali was here at The Cheesecake Factory and I told him how twenty years ago you gave him your change purse because he didn’t have any money! He seemed to understand the story! Then when I offered to pay their bill his wife said ‘After what your father did we actually owe YOU money!'”
Dad (stunned): “EF! Really? And did he invite you over to his house after they were done?”
……..
At that moment I realized how my father felt when I asked about Gorilla Monsoon’s airplane spin.
Me: “Um, no Dad. He didn’t ask me to stay over. We aren’t that close yet.”
Dad realized what he had said and we had a good laugh.
————-
This man was a fixture here in Phoenix. Attend any major charity event and he was there. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center helps those with the disease and other movement disorders. Make-A-Wish, Special Olympics, Celebrity Fight Night, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Truly, his body may have been gone but his mind was still there.
And as my Dad fights Parkinson’s himself, The Champ’s death reminded me of the Circle of Life that brought us together.
And to those fighting this and every other disease out there, keep swinging. Fight on.
“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.” -Muhammad Ali
Very cool story