In the Pipeline: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stands tall as an author as well

He enters the room so silently that you don’t notice until he’s almost right next to you. He’s dressed casually in jeans, a black warm-up jacket and a blue UCLA baseball cap. Quietly, he sits down at a small table.

“Man, I’m so hungry,” he says softly. “I haven’t really eaten much today and it’s dinnertime.”

The woman in charge shows him that the chicken salad sandwich he had ordered is in a bag on the table. He smiles and says, “Oh, good.” Then he pours himself a glass of lemonade and begins gingerly eating his sandwich.

You almost don’t want to disrupt this moment of peace.

Hundreds of people are waiting for him on the second floor of the Barnes & Noble bookstore at the Bella Terra mall in Huntington Beach. The air is electric as eyes survey the store, looking for a glimpse of him. Teenagers and adults are holding copies of his new book, buzzing with anticipation.

One girl of about 14 tells me, “I can’t believe he’s really going to be here.”

“No,” her father says. “It’s me that can’t believe he’s going to be here.”

But they’ll have to wait a bit longer, at least until he has a chance to eat.

Downstairs in a near-empty conference room, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is signing books for the store before he makes his way upstairs to greet the throngs of the faithful. I still don’t like the idea of interrupting his rare moment of serenity, but he says it’s no problem.

This column doesn’t have enough space to detail all the records he set as a basketball player and how he changed the game. Sure, he scored more points than anyone else in history, but that barely scratches the surface of his impact on American culture.

Private, cerebral and intensely thoughtful, the 7-feet-2 Abdul-Jabbar always seemed to be operating on a different plane than other athletes. He had mystique and that philosophical countenance. And he seemed unapproachable.

But that was then. The NBA legend — a 19-time All-Star and six-time champion — seems genuinely interested in talking about his new book, “Stealing the Game,” the second in his “Streetball Crew” series.

“I loved reading books as a kid growing up in New York City,” he says. “My dad was a big reader, and that had a big influence on me. Also, reading was a chance for me to escape, especially when I started growing really tall. I mean, I hit 6 feet in the sixth grade. And, you know, just kept going.

“That could be hard sometimes, how people react to you, so reading really helped me. In this new book, I try and capture some of those aspects of my life and how young people can deal with things that aren’t always that easy.”

He understands that getting kids to pick up a book is no small feat.

“I know I’ve got a be careful when telling a story, because even though I want to weave in the morals to the story, you’ve got to keep it moving with lots of fun and lots of action,” he says. “That’s one thing I’ve learned writing books for kids, is that it’s got to be exciting for them to keep their focus. There are just too many other things to look at today. Too many distractions.

“I’m totally stoked when they get the characters and understand what I’m writing about. It makes me feel good when kids are motivated to read something I’ve written. I just use my own life as a template for it all, and good things seem to happen.”

We talk about basketball and music, and then it’s time for him to go upstairs. He finishes his sandwich, signs a few more books and quietly lopes out and takes the elevator to the second floor.

Once he appears there, a wave of cheers rolls across the room and hundreds of pictures are taken. Abdul-Jabbar takes the microphone and welcomes everybody, says a few words about his book and then sits and begins greeting the public.

This book, like the one before it, is a fun, complex and entertaining tale that weaves in many lessons, courtesy of Abdul-Jabbar’s life story. It is exciting to watch a man of his stature go from thrilling millions of basketball fans to thrilling young people with his gift of storytelling. I highly recommend the series of books he has written along with his co-author, Raymond Obstfeld.

Since I first saw him play as a Milwaukee Buck in New York City in 1970, Abdul-Jabbar has struck me as somewhat of a mythical force of nature. But watching this very real man squeezing in a sandwich before presenting his book to fans is a refreshing opportunity to realize how authentic and down-to-earth he is. No superstar attitudes or affectations. Just a serious man doing his job and making people happy.

I guess some things never change.

Essay competition

It’s time for my In the Pipeline essay competition.

The competition is open to any high school-age students in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Westminster.

In 500 words or less, explain the one thing you would like to change in your community and how you would go about it.

The deadline for essays is April 10. The winner will see his or her work in print and get to cut the ribbon at the popular Taste of Huntington Beach festival on April 26.

All essays can be emailed to me at chris@chrisepting.com.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 25 books, including “Huntington Beach Chronicles: The Heart of Surf City.” You can chat with him on Twitter @chrisepting or follow his column at facebook.com/hbindependent.