At a work conference some years ago, the facilitator asked each participant to relate an interesting tidbit about themselves that no one else knew, this as an ice breaker to loosen things up. When it was my turn, I thought for a minute, then told the group that few people knew that during my college days I was classmates with two of the country’s most famous athletes: O.J. Simpson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Everyone oohed and aahed and asked questions.
        I must preface this with the disclaimer that while I really was enrolled in college classes with both them and very much aware of each, neither knew me beyond being an anonymous face in the crowd. I never had face-to-face conversations with either.
        In 1966-67, I attended the University of Southern California (USC) for one year as a freshman undergrad. Because I was a hopeful Cinema major, I took an introductory cinema course called Cinema 190. It was held in a large auditorium with about 200 students and known on campus as Monday Night at the Movies because it met every Monday night. The instructor would show a Hollywood movie, discuss it for a while, then hand out a simplistic multiple-choice exam testing the class on what they’d just seen and heard. It was a ridiculously easy class, a Mick, as in Mickey Mouse, and an easy A. The whole USC football team was enrolled.
        O.J. Simpson had just transferred to USC from City College of San Francisco when I was in that class. He was not yet famous for setting football records, though everyone was aware he was an elite track star. But he immediately stood out as a colorful and charismatic character. I remember one evening before class. Roll was taken by an attendance clerk sitting at a table along the side of the auditorium, each student reporting their name to him as they entered. The line would usually extend to the back of the room and out the door. The process was tedious but everyone complied to assure they got credit for attending. But one night as I was already seated, I gazed to the line extending out the door. O.J. came strutting in from the back of the room, bypassed everyone in line, then as he stepped past the attendance clerk, announced “Simpson” in his deep, booming voice, then sauntered past the table and sat down. The others in line and the attendance clerk were disgruntled, but then again, it was funny too. Who would do that? O.J. laughed at his own prank and everyone else did too.
        Another time, as we were dispersing after class, a phone booth outside the auditorium started ringing. O.J. happened to be nearby and picked up the phone. He didn’t know who he was talking to but became engrossed in an animated conversation, laughing often, and drew a crowd of observers who were equally amused. He had boundless confidence and charisma from the get-go and everyone