To sum up the life of a physical freak of nature, it is easy to get stuck on the attributes that made them physically freakish. Overshadowed by what is obvious, the subtleties of a person's character can get lost on what is easiest to marvel at. This is very much the case with a certain professional basketball player, Mr. Manute Bol.
At 7'7" tall, he could easily have made a living as an NBA star, bought a massive house with the cash he took in, and lived out his life in posh quarters. Instead, he gave up his luxury-living potential and traded it in for a life of giving and activism in his native country, Sudan.Although he passed away at 47 years old, Bol lived the life of many men and made the very most of those few years he got on this earth. My favorite quote from Manute Bol came from an article in Sport's Illustrated where he said "God guided me to America and gave me a good job, but he also gave me a heart so I would look back." A kind man no doubt. Kind and brave as it turns out..... Legend has it that he also killed a lion with a spear while herding cows.
After Manute Bol retired from basketball after ten seasons, he became an even bigger force throughout the rest of the world. As an activist in his native Africa and giving to the starving families in Sudan, he literally went broke trying to help as many as he could. He even went so far as to do a celebrity boxing match against former Chicago Bear William Perry in order to raise money for his country. He signed a one day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League to and signed on every now and then as a horse jockey to raise money for children of Sudan. It seems even being humiliated on television was worth the cause.
This was a man who used what nature gave him and utilized those attributes to help others. If the world had more Manute Bol's, it would be a better place.
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