Yesterday Muhammad Ali was laid to rest and a parade of speakers, famous and not so famous, eulogized this man. From Senator Orin Hatch to Billy Crystal to President Bill Clinton they all had words that were meaningful, funny and sad. It was an amazing service.

Most people don't remember that he was not well liked by a great majority of the country in the late 60's. He spoke truth in a time of turmoil and outward racisim. He stood up for his religious beliefs with conviction when the world did not want him to. And he changed the world of boxing forever with his innate ability and brashness to promote.

I heard him tell a story about what happened after he won the Olympic boxing gold medal in 1960. He returned to St. Louis and felt that he could go anywhere. He wore his gold medal and went to a fancy restaurant downtown figuruing he would walk in and they would honor him and his achievement. Instead they told him they couldn't serve him. "Here I am, I just won the Olympic gold medal for all the people in the country and I can't even get a hot dog in my own town."

To judge a person by an event or a even a specific time period is not the true measure of an individual. Nor is it about some thing they did. It's about the full body of work.

By any measure his was a full and great life.