The Answer

I'm chillin' at the crib. I get to thinkin' about the day the Sixers retired A.I.'s jersey to the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. I had the privilege to be in attendance in the nosebleeds as A.I. gave an emotional half time speech. I thought, "That's a real dude right there." Admitting his flaws and feeling blessed by fan support over the years, Philly will phorever love him. The grit of his play, the tenacity of his will to compete and succeed among monstrous competitors, his fortitude. His fortitude is a measure of his integrity, no matter any previous imperfections off the court. That shit gotta carry over into all aspects of life. To me and to Philly, his heart on the floor is a measure of his integrity off the court.

So, I question on this luminous jersey raising evening, in honor of A.I.'s illustrious career...who in the hell decided to honor the Hall of Famer with a replica Gumby? Who was in charge of this marketing? I was flabbergasted. During the halftime speech, I sat with my back against the concrete wall, we were in the last row in the building. As the accolades from former players rained down from the jumbo tron, as A.I. wiped away tears, I looked at my A.I. Gumby and thought of ten thousand better ways to honor this dude.

My Dad was there, too. He gave me his A.I. Gumby. So, I was blessed with two. I gave one to Isabella. Her rabbit ate off the eyeballs. Free range rabbit, roaming the halls of the house, found A.I. Gumby and disrespected him. Somewhere, Tyron Lue Gumby was smiling.