Dear Editor,
The measure of a man is not in his conquest in the heat of a battle, but by his wisdom to walk away even though undefeated.
The worst mistake made by the late great Ali was to be engaged in fights well past his prime, because it not only took the shine off his legacy, but it pitted him with men who were lesser mortals and who were not worthy to unlatch his shoe, much less to defeat him in a match.
Usain Bolt is no ordinary mortal. What this man has done for athletics, for Jamaica, and for sports worldwide is not only unprecedented but can never be emulated — at least not in our lifetime.
Usain Bolt has caused international commentators to fact check if Jamaica is really an island — some argue it must be a continent.
Being seemingky the only black man, a Jamaican, in Mississauga, today I was confronted by people in a TD Bank here from various nationalities inquiring, as one man from Pakistan put it, “Tell us the truth, what’s the population of Jamaica?” I responded, “2.6 million people.” They’re still astounded.
Usain Bolt has done it all, there is absolutely nothing left for him to do or nothing else for him to prove. My advice to him, and I say this with a very heavy heart and tears in my eyes, knowing the void that will be left in athletics, walk away now, Dr Bolt, at the pinnacle of your career. I cannot afford lesser mortals to take advantage of any decline you may face with age. They only want to tell their friends and family that they finished in front of you. That would not do justice to a long and well written story.
It was Shakespeare who said: “When cowards die, there are no comets seen, but the heavens blaze for the death of their prince.” (Read as rainstorm in Rio Saturday night.)
Donovan McLean
Mississauga, Canada
danni-mackie@hotmail.com
The measure of a man is not in his conquest in the heat of a battle, but by his wisdom to walk away even though undefeated.
The worst mistake made by the late great Ali was to be engaged in fights well past his prime, because it not only took the shine off his legacy, but it pitted him with men who were lesser mortals and who were not worthy to unlatch his shoe, much less to defeat him in a match.
Usain Bolt is no ordinary mortal. What this man has done for athletics, for Jamaica, and for sports worldwide is not only unprecedented but can never be emulated — at least not in our lifetime.
Usain Bolt has caused international commentators to fact check if Jamaica is really an island — some argue it must be a continent.
Being seemingky the only black man, a Jamaican, in Mississauga, today I was confronted by people in a TD Bank here from various nationalities inquiring, as one man from Pakistan put it, “Tell us the truth, what’s the population of Jamaica?” I responded, “2.6 million people.” They’re still astounded.
Usain Bolt has done it all, there is absolutely nothing left for him to do or nothing else for him to prove. My advice to him, and I say this with a very heavy heart and tears in my eyes, knowing the void that will be left in athletics, walk away now, Dr Bolt, at the pinnacle of your career. I cannot afford lesser mortals to take advantage of any decline you may face with age. They only want to tell their friends and family that they finished in front of you. That would not do justice to a long and well written story.
It was Shakespeare who said: “When cowards die, there are no comets seen, but the heavens blaze for the death of their prince.” (Read as rainstorm in Rio Saturday night.)
Donovan McLean
Mississauga, Canada
danni-mackie@hotmail.com