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Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
John Wooden (1910-2010)
J, thank you for using your signature line to pay tribute to one of the finest men in the history of mankind.
John Wooden came into a skyscraper in which I worked in 1976, the year after he retired from the Bruins. I was introduced to him by a member of the building's managerial staff, who was one of the lucky thousands of people who knew Coach Wooden. I gushed with praise and shook his hand enthusiastically. This moment was one of the richest moments of my life.
Several months later, Coach Wooden stepped onto the elevator once again, and the same guy went to introduce me to him. And Coach said my first name and told my friend that we had already been introduced. It was astounding ... for a regular man, but normal for Coach Wooden. And it was a vivid illustration of the level of class that man had. He may be the only 99-year-old I ever heard of who died too soon.
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