"I'm really glad that people are responding so well because I really do think these types of things are happening around us all the time, but they're hard to talk about it," Shirley said. Some thank her for talking about her loss, other share their own stories of loved ones affected by cancer. Shirley, who grew up in Iowa and graduated from Tufts University in Boston, said she's heard from dozens of people. Just finding that writing could help me put these stories into ways that people can access and read at their own pace or ingest at their own pace. "I guess I just wanted to talk about (my father) all the time," Shirley told the Des Moines Register Saturday. "People don't usually allow that time or space to talk about mortality or death but it's literally all I could think about. Celebrities and personalities in and outside of sports such as Seth Myers, Soledad O'Brien and David Aldridge have tweeted about the piece as well. Since being published by WBUR, Boston's NPR radio station, the story has been shared on several platforms including Yahoo! and Mashable. My Dad's Friendship With Charles Barkley Shirley Wang to the Register: Sharing story 'has helped me so much' "So, let me get this straight: you were impressed by him?" she asked. "Just hearing about him at the funeral - what he had accomplished and what he was trying to help other people accomplish, just made me even - I wished he bragged more about himself." "It gives me great memories and great joy to know that I was a friend of his," the 11-time NBA All-Star said. The two's friendship may be best summed up by the following exchange, Barkley again gave his condolences and told the Wangs to keep in touch. I was blessed to know him - and know you, too," he said. "Your dad prepared you to take care of yourself. Don’t forget that," he told her. "That’s the most important thing." She was amazed at what the NBA legend could teach her about her father - and herself. Shirley Wang reached out to Barkley after the ceremony. "The world is gonna be a little less happier because (Lin) is not here." "I'm so blessed to know him as a person," Barkley said of Lin at his funeral. Shirley said Barkleyy showed up to the funeral. Just days later, his daughter would meet his famous friend. You know me well enough - if you were bothering me, I would tell you if you were bothering me.' " "I called him and got mad at him when I found out," Barkley said in Shirley Wang's piece. Lin was diagnosed with cancer in May 2016. Lin even got to meet Barkley's costars on TNT's "Inside the NBA," taking a picture with another superstar, Shaquille O'Neal.Ī year after Barkley's mother died, Shirley's father became sick. To give your kids everything in life."īarkley and Lin would meet up whenever they found themselves in the same city. "Listen: as an adult - and you’re too young to understand this now - all you want is your kids to be happy. And your dad was so proud of you and your brother. I’m just really, really proud of her because I think she’s a good person. "I think it was more that he was proud (of his kids)," Barkley told Shirley Wang. And both valued being a father above just about anything else. They both believed that hard work would lift them from their humble beginnings. He was understanding when people didn't believe his story but made a slideshow showing pictures of the two of them together. Despite the physical differences, the men had plenty in common, Lin told his daughter. Shirley Wang said her dad was proud of the friendship the two had built. 'One of the happiest people I've ever met' "For your dad to take the time to come to the funeral meant a great deal to me," he told Shirley Wang. "It ain’t easy to get to those places," Barkley said, of Leeds, Alabama. The former Phoenix Suns star was impressed that his new pal went through the trouble of flying to the deep South. In 2015, when Barkley's mother died, Lin flew to Alabama to support his friend. Their friendship would continue after Lin returned to eastern Iowa and Barkley continued his high-profile career as a basketball legend and analyst for TNT. If I’m in town, we'll hang out and have a good time.'" He said, 'Whenever you're in Atlanta, New York City or Phoenix, check out with me. "He said the same thing to me, and he left the phone number. "Certainly, I told him I had a good time talking with him, hanging out with him," Lin told his daughter, she later wrote. Then they met up at the hotel the next two nights before Barkley gave Lin, who worked in Muscatine, his phone number.
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