Say It Isn't So!!!

I just read an article that says that Charles Barkley may be in trouble for some gambling debts. I think he hasn't paid something like $400,000! I can't even imagine that! Gambling has never really made sense to me, and it is disheartening to see people wasting so much money when they could be using it to help people. On a personal note, I hope he'll just pay off his debt and get back to doing what he does best: entertaining people.

One thing most people would probably be surprised to know about me is that I LOVE Charles Barkley. I think he's one of the funniest people on the planet. Yes, he's controversial. No, I don't agree with everything he says. Sometimes his language is a bit too colorful. He's brutally honest. But there's few celebrities that I can think of who give a better interview. When I hear he's going to be on any talk show, I get way too excited and make it a point to watch. When I worked at ACT, I even listened to his book, I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It on disc, made my husband listen to it, and also listened to a long interview with him I found in the Books on Tape section of the Library. Really, though, how could you not be intrigued by a title like I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It?

Anyway, in case you're wondering why in the world I love this crazy guy, here's just some of the wit and wisdom of Charles Barkley. I was, however, disappointed that I couldn't find anywhere the exact quote from an interview he did with Jay Leno. It went something like this: Jay teased him about having gotten out of shape. Charles indignantly replied, "I am too in shape. Round is a shape!!!" It was too, too funny. Enjoy!

• I don't care what people think. People are stupid.
• I figure if I kill the first one, word will get out. (on how he plans to handle his daughter being old enough to date)
• I'm still trying to get my grandmother off her old behind and into the Olympics. Why not? She can dust. (on the sport of curling)
• I heard Tonya Harding is calling herself the Charles Barkley of figure skating. I was going to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized I have no character.
• These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it.
• (Charles in response to Kenny Smith's jokes about his weight) I am not fat, it's the camera, it puts on 10 pounds. (Kenny Smith) Well, there must be a whole lot of cameras!
• Sports are not for old guys, this ain't baseball.
• That's wronger than ketchup on pancakes.
• On why he voted for President Bush: "My family got all over me because they said Bush is only for the rich people. Then I reminded them, 'Hey, I'm rich.'"
• "I think the biggest problem is parents are so concerned with being friends with their kids. You're not their friend. You're their parent."
• "I came to the realization a couple months ago that I am fat. If you get tired from walking - and that's all that golf is - then you are officially fat."
• "People say I eat a lot. I really don’t. More or less I just eat all the time.
• "You don't wear Nike, it's going to happen. They gave him all that money to wear those cheap Filas." re: Grant Hill's foot injuries.
• “How long do you think Steve Nash spent on his hair? 5 seconds? 10 seconds?"
• EJ: "Did they recognize you in South Dakota?" Charles: "Yes, they did. It was easy because I was the only black person there. When they see me walking down the street they say 'There he goes again'. And when I come back the next year they say 'He's back yawl!'"
• "My goals are to play the piano and get really, really, really fat."