Above: Muhammad Ali at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport, 1997. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

In January of 1997 I had a very brief encounter with Muhammad Ali at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport. I was walking down a corridor and saw him shuffling toward me with his entourage. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome 13 years before and some of the symptoms were evident as he got closer.

Having always respected him as a person and an athlete, I wanted to take a picture as he walked by. As quickly as I could I took off my backpack, put it on the floor and started digging through it to find my camera. He kept getting closer and I was running out of time. Finally I found the camera, removed it from the backpack and began taking it out of the case.

Glancing up to see if I still had time to get the photo, I saw Ali look at me and he stopped walking. He watched as I stood up and raised the camera. Just as I pressed the shutter he and his group were distracted by something off to my right. Then he looked at me as I lowered the camera and he resumed his shuffling down the corridor with his entourage. I said “Thank you” as he passed by.

He was kind enough to stop what he was doing to allow me to get my camera out and take his picture. He did not have to do that, of course.

May he rest in peace.