Reply #6: Some years ago, when Frank Sinatra died, I was getting an oil change . . .

[Journeyman]

and the TV was tuned to the news. There were maybe four or five other guys in the room, all of us between 35 and 60. At one point, one of those vapid news readers said that Sinatra was probably the most well-known and beloved man on the planet. This helmet head then said, "There's no one else in the world but Sinatra whom, you just say his name, and everyone knows exactly who you mean."

There was a pause in the room after that, as the news reader looked particularly smug with pleasure at his commentary. In the silence, I spoke but two words: "Muhammad Ali."

Everyone of those men smiled as they nodded. Oh yes, that's a name known in the furthest reaches of the planet, on every continent, in every language.

Thanks for the reminder of his special day, Kid. Only one other man born this day means more, at least to me: Benjamin Franklin.