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100 Words on Love, by Allan Mott
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My mother used to cry every time she saw Muhammad Ali.
It was the sight of the world’s mightiest man trapped in a body he could no longer fully control that did it to her. The knowledge that the mind and spirit that once transfixed the world and earned him the title of The Greatest now had to struggle to express itself in the smallest ways. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair and so she cried.
And now that she’s gone, I think of her tears and I cry whenever I see Muhammad Ali too.
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Photo courtesy of the author
And your mother’s legacy lives on in the tears of all of us who read these words.
I continue to find it amazing how much can be said in 100 words.
What made him decide to call himself “The Greatest”, boxing, is what turned him into the shambling, mumbling “punch drunk” shell of the man he once was.
Thanks Mathew! It was always a mystery to me. Do you have any insights on the wetness of water and hotness of fire that might also be of interest?
And now I’m crying thinking about you crying thinking about your mom.
This is a lovely tribute to your mother and her kind heart. <3