Let a little light into your world with this moving story about Charles Barkley's friend
Here I am, sitting at my work desk on a Saturday and sobbing uncontrollably.
The social media savvy among you might be noticing a lot of posts mentioning a story about former NBA star Charles Barkley and his friend, Lin Wang. I'm here to tell you that you should listen to all this unasked-for advice and read that story.
It's from WBUR, a Boston public radio station. Wang's daughter, Shirley, sat down and described her dad's unusual relationship with Barkley in an appearance on the station's weekly Only A Game sport show, which aired Friday. (It's available in both audio and text form.)
I don't want to spoil the whole thing; this is Shirley's story to tell, after all. But here's the setup: Barkley randomly connected with the senior Wang when the two were both in Sacramento on separate business some years back. They hit it off and remained in contact from that point on.
Shirley's moving account chronicles the seemingly mismatched friendship between the two men. The purity of their bond is revealed in the words and actions of both her father, whom she introduces as a "cat litter scientist," and Barkley himself. Their love for one another is evident.
Even if you have a sense of where the story might be headed, I encourage you to read the whole thing. This is about so much more than an unlikely friendship, and stands as a refreshing reminder for these troubled times that connecting with strangers doesn't always have to be fraught and terrifying.
The internet clearly agrees.
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
