Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Surprise birthday guest

FLOAT LIKE a butterfly, sting like a bee ... it must be nice to have a friend like Muhammad Ali.

With apologies to the boxing poet extraordinaire, I couldn't help adding on to what Ali immortalized decades ago after hearing my friend, Bernie Yuman, recount his eventful and significant birthday party.

Everyone I know who has reached the half-century mark -- or who plans to do so in the relatively near future -- has considered the ways in which that memorable day should be celebrated. Some people think nothing of renting yachts in faraway places and planes to transport their hundred or so closest friends and relatives to the floating festivities. Many of those seek publicity to match the exorbitant expenditures.

Others, the saner variety of mid-lifers, plan the kind of celebrations that focus on family and friends. The setting is secondary to the warmth and sincerity of those who have gathered around the celebrant. And still others find sanity by hiding their way through the natal day, emerging shortly thereafter recharged and ready for what the next 50 years may bring.

Without giving away the number of years for which Bernie has been roaming this earth -- you have been provided with sufficient hints -- I would like to focus specifically on the party I missed because this Yuman fellow is a hard act to follow. When I questioned whether my absence went unnoticed Bernie, as only he could do, went on for 10 minutes to describe the depth of the void left in the hearts and minds of those who managed their way to Florida for the happy occasion.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Yuman and his particular talent with the English language, he is the man who, as their personal manager, has helped guide the rocketing success and long-running stardom of this city's most respected illusionists, Siegfried and Roy. That's what he does when he is working.

During his off hours -- he had a few of them this past year -- he is an avid, no, rabid Miami Dolphin fan. In fact, there isn't a day that goes by that Bernie will be caught without his Dolphin T-shirt and socks lurking just beneath the surface of his black-on-black work uniform. I think he even sleeps in Dolphin pajamas, although I haven't had the courage or the inclination to check. Remember, this is a very middle-aged man we are talking about.

In any event, you just know that Bernie was celebrating the way he wanted with his wife, Candace, and daughters, Sidney and Alexandra, by his side all night. Of course it didn't hurt that his good and close friend, Don Shula -- at whose restaurant the party was given -- stayed close all night to discuss next season's game plans and last season's mistakes -- all of which Bernie has at his fingertips.

But the real reason for this little birthday story is not to discuss the guest list but, rather, one guest. And a surprise one at that.

For almost 40 years, before it was de rigueur to be his friend and during times when being his friend cast one's loyalty to this country in doubt, the team of Yuman and Ali has been strong and undeniable. It has been the right kind of friendship, too. No agendas, no requests. Just friends.

Of course, over the past few years, while Ali's mind has stayed as sharp as ever, his body has been ravaged by the progressively debilitating Parkinson's syndrome. Just getting dressed in the morning and tying his shoes can be an hourslong effort. Under the best of circumstances, life is not as easy as it should be for the man many believe should be the athlete of the century.

That's why there was no reason to believe that the once and forever heavyweight champion of the world would even consider hopping the number of planes, trains and/or automobiles required to get him from his home in Michigan to Shula's in Miami. And there certainly was no reason to expect that he would or should.

That's what made the surprise that much more special when Muhammad Ali walked into that restaurant to give his longtime friend the kind of bear hug he is famous for and the kind of kisses to the forehead and other facial regions for which Bernie has become known. He stayed, he ate, he signed every manner of autograph and was one of the last to leave the party.

If stories about 50th birthday celebrations ever become something worth noting, I suspect that Bernie's low-key effort to share his happiness with family and friends will be one of those that will make the rounds, followed by envy and awe. For I am confident that few people, if any, will ever be able to tell their grandchildren the story about the time "The Greatest" went way out of his way in 1999 to be with his very good friend.

Bernie says "Ali still floats like a butterfly." I don't doubt that one bit.

archive