Manute was a majestic presence. It wasn't just his height but the fact that he emanated all the emotional pain he has witnessed, the physical pain that he bore, and the dogged determination that he represented. He was so much more than an NBA legend. He was living proof that none of us could ever claim that we had a bad day. Manute had seen so much more than any of us and he triumphed. He said he was going to build reconciliation schools in southern Sudan. This from a man who lost 250 members of his own family from religious violence. He put together schools taught by Christians and Muslims for children who were Christian and Muslim. They would learn and study under the shade of trees, using sticks and rocks to write. Manute moved forward to build the first school with the help of volunteers from all faiths. The builders learned to make bricks in a town that had a shortage of water and no electricity, no infrastructure and no contact with the outside world.
I was with him at three fundraisers. The last time he was wheel-chair bound in Rochester. He couldn't stand up and he listened as the kids each came up to the microphone and asked the litany of questions about "how tall are you." He actually loved it. But when a little girl told him and her schoolmates that she understood him because she had childhood arthritis he looked back at Rev. Tom Prichard and me and said, "help me stand up. Let them see me standing up."
So few know about southern Sudan but they wanted to help Manute. We had huge fundraisers scheduled in DC, Miami, and Houston. There were plans for Albany. But they all had to be canceled because he was needed in the Sudan to assist the independence forces during the recent election. But frankly he was also just too ill to travel.
I will never know how he carried on with so many physical problems but I do know that if a man's wealth can be measured by endurance of pain, determination to help the poorest of his friends and family as well as total strangers, and the dignity to carry on against all odds, Manute is the richest man ever to have played in the NBA.
Manute Bol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manute Bol, NBA player-humanitarian, dies at 47 - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Bol dies as basketball's gentle giant - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Manute Bol NBA & ABA Statistics | Basketball-Reference.com
Manute Bol Tribute: The Obituary and Death Notice of Manute Bol ...
During one of his early games in the '80s someone from the Celtics fell while scrambling for a ball. The unspoken rule was that you only helped your teammates up when they fell. Bol instinctively lent a hand to the Celt.
During a prank show, his teammates had him come into a kitchen where they were "cooking". When they asked him to check on a pot, the head of another teammate popped out. Bol jumped back and looked like a seven year old. So innocent it was endearing.
I always had a soft spot for the guy, he was big in heart too. May he rest in peace.
I remember when I first saw him on the court back in 1985-he was 7 foot 6, 190 pounds. That's right, 190 pounds. He was so skinny he could have taken a shower in a drain pipe. I said to my friends, "That guy will never survive." I was wrong. Not only did he survive, he lasted 10 years. I remember one game when he was with the Bullets (our team was called the Washington Bullets before they changed to Washington Wizards) he swatted a shot into the next zip code. Nothing much got past him. he could soot the three too-looked kind of goofy, but he pulled it off. Rest in peace, my friend.
-Mauricio”
The hounds of hell have been unleashed on humanity while far too many in position to stand, don't. Why? Addicted too, and/ or distracted by, entertainment, mis-information, feelings of inadequacy, tend to be outcasts from those who most need to know. Far to many who have awakened to comprehending corporate fascism taking over our government, and killing us, are so shocked by it's scale, that their ability to even create viable solutions is decimated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aovYZjCoBsc&feature=related. But worse - we distance ourselves from the ignorance of those asleep, when we should be doing all we can to reach them:http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html
So for me, the article is both a tribute and a motivation to overcome, because it proves what we CAN do, to do what we MUST do now WITH a LOT more individuals. a. AMENDMNT AGAINST
SAVE AMERICA!
http://salsa.mydccc.org/o/30019/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4&tag=redirect
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FROM "PRIVATE CITIZEN"
http://www.citizen.org/
MOVE ON PETITION http://pol.moveon.org/fairelectionsnow/
Bless him...
Also,
http://beforeitsnews.com/news/83/134/Manute_Bols_legacy:_did_he_invent_the_phrase_my_bad.html
How cool is that?