Dikembe Mutombo at Barack Obama's 2012 Inauguration

It was January 13, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia. My daughter and I were heading out early in the morning into Washington, D.C., to attend Barack Obama’s second inauguration. My daughter, Glynnis, had worked on the campaign and was invited to attend. I was fortunate enough to be her guest. We took the Metro in, got off and followed the signs through the streets to the appropriate section - following instructions all along the way, snaking through security, waiting in lines, having our bags checked and then finally, a couple of hours after leaving home on that cold morning, we were through security and doing our best New Yorker efforts to finagle our way through the crowds, sliding in between bunches of people, working our way until it seemed we could not get any closer to the podium. Having found that spot, we turned toward the Capitol. There was a wall in front of us. We looked up, and up and up, turning not just our eyes, but our heads had to turn up as well to see over the top of this wall in front of us. Finally, at the top of this wall was a head, a head of a very tall man. A very tall man, with very wide shoulders. This man was the wall. We were finally able to get a bit to the side of him so that we could have a view of the podium. As we waited for the Inauguration to begin, people passing this giant man were calling out greetings to him, Hey Dikembe! And news people with cameras approached to interview him.

We had no idea who this giant was, nor just how much of a giant he was. He was there with his family, all thrilled to be a part of history. I texted my son, asking him if he knew of someone named Dikembe. Of course he did, and gave me the short texting version of him being a great basketball player and humanitarian.

And now, sadly, Dikembe Mutombo has died. He died on September 30, 2024. I never saw him play basketball, and never encountered his humanitarian work directly. But, my daughter and I spent a good part of a wonderful day behind this wall of a man (at 7’ 2, he was nearly 2 feet taller than we are), and his family, gathered to watch another amazing man embarking on a second term in office. I have the great Barack Obama to thank for my encounter with the great Dikembe Mutombo.