“Yesterday December 7th,” Larry Bird Turned 60 Years Old

“Yesterday, December 7th,” Larry Bird born 15 years after the “infamy” of Pearl Harbor, on another “yesterday December 7th,” turned 60 years old.

If one really thinks about it, and extrapolates a bit, more so as I feel and was brought up, with little or no racial prejudice, but with a tad less “political correctness,” we can go a long way measuring attitudes of many, through the prism of Larry Bird’s greatness.

Basketball was his vehicle, an all-time great, a consensus and my pick as the greatest forward in basketball history, the leading man on 3 Boston Celtics’ title teams, fitting and “weaving” well into the “fabric,” of that most glorious NBA franchise.

Oh the mixed feelings I had over the years, as the Celtics were not my team, but my father’s team. As with any great team, I appreciate their greatness and in doing so, let go of the “anti-feelings,” still unfortunately, reserved for lesser teams, associated with disproportionate intensity.

There were never mixed feelings regarding Larry Bird. I truly loved his greatness and am glad my father and I watched him play together, on a number of occasions.

Perhaps it is bragging, but few know me and I deserve this, as again I was ahead of the curve as a Lakers/”Earvin “Magic” Johnson fan, who longed for Earvin and Larry, rivals in college and as members of the two most glorious and successful NBA franchises, the Celtics and Lakers, to become friends.

It took a while, but these two men, who took their great skills and made them better, more than anything by being team players, did become the friends they are today.

I love the great pass. I had hope, we as members of the so called human race, would make that “pass” to make the unit and as much surrounding us as possible, better.

However, as the ’80’s progressed, that was not the case for those on the bottom, not even close.

Yet in watching Larry and Earvin play, their great respect and eventual “love’ for each other, I knew in that aspect, I was living in a wonderful time.

Nobody “messed” time the way I did. Most get screwed by circumstance eventually, in fact all of us die, often with great regret.

However, from that first Friday night in 1979, when Johnny Most’s broadcast of Larry’s first NBA game came crackling through the radio, including the one time I talked with him, the great memories of having seen Larry play, helps ease that regret.

Franklin Roosevelt pictured above. My number, my country, most of all my life—“what happened?!!”