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-- [ From: Seymour Gross * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- The following column appeared on page A23 of the May 19 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer: How Parkinson's has devastated once-dynamic Muhammad Ali By Claude Lewis Recently, I tuned in to a television program, Touched by an Angel, that I seldom watch. The attraction to the Sunday evening show was a cameo appearance by former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Ali's role was to convey a positive message to a confused youngster. But I was hardly prepared for how much Ali's physical condition had eroded. He has become a tragic figure. Though it wasn't meant to happen, he came off as an extremely depressed version of his former self. Gone was every scintilla of the grace and confidence that once made him so appealing. During his recent performance, each word was little more than a grunt that had to be translated or made intelligible by Della Reese, one of the show's stars. Ali's face seemed transfixed by an involuntary and inappropriate smile. He stood stone-still, except for his arms that trembled ceaselessly. It was a sad experience, made worse, I suppose, by the fact that I knew him well when he was a healthy man. It hurt to see him in such a condition. Ali was once a charming, exuberant fighter who entertained us as much by his banter outside the ring as by his powerful and fluid motions inside of it. Now, he's severly debilitated by Parkinson's disease. Years back, he was a colorful and marvelous man, a great fighter and one of the most loved athletes in the world. Once, when I visited Kenya, a Masai woman walked down a road and stopped at my car. She spoke no English, but when someone told her in her native language that I was a visitor from America, she offered her hand to me along with the two words she knew about America: Muhammad Ali. On another trip to a small town in Israel, when people learned that I had written a biography of Ali, about 60 boys and girls lined up to shake my hand simply because I knew him. Ali was easily the best-known and most respected athlete in the world. His image was good for boxing, and it was good for America, too. He was such a dominant force that his fights transformed a notorious sport into a festive celebration. Thousands who had no interest in boxing scrambled to see and hear him. Ali proved that fighters could be articulate, sensitive and intelligent. His demeanor both in and out of the ring won a new respectability for boxers (which lasted until Mike Tyson came along). Ali became a global figure thrust into international politics. He playfully dubbed himself "The Greatest." Millions admired his good looks and his great sense of humor. Some who despised his politics and the religion of Islam, grudgingly respected him for his conscience and commitment to his beliefs. They marveled that a young man was willing to forfeit his boxing title and millions in earnings at the peak of his career. A Supreme Court decision in his favor freed him from much of the disdain people aimed at him. Before retiring from boxing, he won the heavyweight championship three times. Not long afterward, the world learned he was suffering from Parkinson's. Some time ago, I arranged to meet Ali in California, but he was unable to keep the date straight in his mind. It is painful for me to know that Ali has gone so deep into a shell, emerging only occasionally to try to share his intelligence, charm, humility and humor. Seeing him the other night on television brought me to tears. There he stood, mumbling and moving mechanically, trying to smile past his illness to help illuminate a small boy's world. Parkinson's, for which there is no cure, has stricken more than a million Americans. Each year, 50,000 new cases are diagnosed. I have known, somewhat vaguely, how disheartening that illness can be, but it took Ali's recent appearance to show me the consequences the disease can impose on its victims. To have known him from the time he was 17, when he was articulate and healthy, robust and a generously skilled fighter, and to see him now, are stunning blows to the solar plexus, much like the ones he cleanly delivered to so many of his opponents in the ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Claude Lewis' column appears every other Wednesday. His e-mail address is [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- This article cn be found on the web at: http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/May/19/opinion/LEWIS19.htm