David Bruce Anecdotes
Anecdotes are usually short humorous stories. Sometimes they are thought-provoking or informative, not amusing.
Children
• When he was a kid, NFA quarterback Jim Kelly and his five brothers used to put on helmets and play football in the living room with the couch serving as the end zone. As you would expect, the family furniture paid a heavy price for these indoor games. Their mother once said, “I always said I wouldn’t trade my boys for anything, but there were days I would have gladly given them away.” Even as a kid, Jim knew he wanted to play in the NFL. At age 11, he got to meet his hero — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw — and told him, “I’m going to take your job away, Mr. Bradshaw.” By the way, when Mr. Kelly attended the University of Miami his freshman year, he ran into problems getting his favorite number. At first, he wanted the number 11 because that was his number in high school. That number was already taken, so then he wanted Terry Bradshaw’s number: 12. That number was also already taken. Finally, Mr. Kelly settled for number 7 because that was the only number left on a jersey that fit him.
• Of course, kids will be kids, even when they are elite athletes. In Romania, Nadia Comaneci and some other gymnasts did not turn their lights out when they were supposed to — they waited until they heard Bela Karolyi, their coach, coming to check up on them, and then they turned out the lights. They didn’t fool Bela, however, and he told them, “Your light was on. You must not be sleepy. Maybe you need to get a bit more tired before you close your eyes.” He made them run for a while outside before he let them go to bed again. The next day the young gymnasts were very tired, and after that they turned out their lights when they were supposed to.
• In a T-ball (a version of baseball for very young players) game, an umpire named Laura Benson called a runner out, but the fielder, Tanner Munsey, told her that he had missed the tag, and so Ms. Benson reversed her call. In a game two weeks later, once again Ms. Benson was the umpire and Tanner Munsey was a player. Ms. Benson called a runner safe, but after seeing the disappointed look on Tanner’s face, she asked him if he had tagged the runner out. He said he had, and so Ms. Benson reversed her call. Later, Ms. Benson said to the opposing coach, “If a kid is that honest, I have to give it to him.”
• MLB star Albert Belle and his twin brother, Terry, were competitive when they were young. One of the things they competed in was reading. Both of them devoured autobiographies, and both of them tried to read more pages than the other. Terry remembers that “if I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or something, I’d check to see what page [his] marker was on. If it was page 207, then I’d read to page 227 so that when he woke up the next morning, I’d be ahead of him.”
• As a child, Scott Hamilton was a very active child. Once, his father, Ernie, was up on the roof working. Suddenly, two-year-old Scott was up on the roof, walking along the edge after climbing up the ladder. On a different occasion, his mother, Dorothy, heard giggling coming from a cabinet above the refrigerator. Even before she opened the cabinet, she knew that she would find Scott. Scott grew up to become the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in men’s figure skating.
• As a little girl growing up in Yugoslavia, Monica Seles learned to play tennis on a court made by stretching a string between two parked cars. After she began to win tournaments, Yugoslavians called her the “champion from the parking lots.” She was so talented at tennis that she once won a 12-and-under tournament even though she didn’t yet know how to keep score and someone had to tell her when her matches were over.
• As very young gymnasts, Dominique Moceanu, Shelly Cavaliere, and Becky Wildgen hung out together. They did not like one coach in particular, so Dominique, whose parents had emigrated from Romania, taught them some Romanian words to say to the coach. The coach had no idea what they were saying, and neither did the two non-Romanian-speaking gymnasts, but Shelly guesses that they were “bad words.”
***
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RILEY JAMES
RILEY JAMES on SPOTIFY
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4a3QjZtD3AFMJiZzvw2JQH
RILEY JAMES on PANDORA
https://www.pandora.com/artist/riley-james/ARqqzcptlxkqJpK
RILEY JAMES on YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/@rileybednarczuk6700/releases
RILEY JAMES: BURNED COLORS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=OLAK5uy_nombbKOwaGEGQ1rWeTKvUdCWMvZe-NMVk
RILEY JAMES: “Déjà vu”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLKCvOs7pc&list=OLAK5uy_kqBb4QRkkDdmt_1qAVb7I1dnNrWuowqMk
CAITLIN KRAUS ON BANDCAMP
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com
CAITLIN KRAUS: GONE BEYOND album
CAITLIN KRAUS: WHAT RISES album
Caitlin Kraus: “This Body”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW9Kp-P3oio
Notes for “This Body”:
A song for the rights of all: the right to be safe in our bodies, the right to make decisions for our bodies, and the right to be who we are in our bodies. (Lyrics below.) I wrote this song […] out of the need to process my anger at women’s rights being taken away and for what this means for other rights down the line. A never-ending issue it seems, but one we can’t stop fighting for. A big thank you to Tom Riggs for taking footage of my first performance of this song with Mark Hellenberg on drums at The Union in Athens, OH.
“Waiting for the World” / “Dead Man”
Caitlin Kraus: “Follow Me” — From the album WHAT RISES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdywiZXm2nc
It is a very special honor to have completed this music video for “Follow Me,” which was directed by the wonderful Adam Remnant who also recorded the song itself back in 2016. We collaborated on the concepts in the video and spent a chilly, beautiful spring day filming it with his talented students (listed below) at the Nelsonville, OH brick kilns, Hocking River, and surrounding neighborhood. For me, the lyrics and music of this song portray real imagery and memories that have grown dream-like with the passing of time, yet still remain formative and foundational. At its core, it is about transformation and being/becoming, but I hope the ambiguity and symbolism of the song and video also lead to your own interpretation and that you can find something resonant within it. Lyrics and digital/CD format available at caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com. Music website at caitlinkrausmusic.com.
A huge and sincere thank you to Adam Remnant for his direction of the video and to the Hocking College students listed in the following credits: AC – Alex Rhinehart & Najayah Shepard; Grips – Alex Rhinehart, Alexis Pariseau, Najayah Shepard, Nate Ruhl, & Richard Valentine; On-set Photographer – Ivan Reardon
“Follow Me” is featured on the full-length 2020 release WHAT RISES and includes myself on vocals/guitar, Adam Remnant on bass/drums/keyboard, and Hannah Simonetti on violin. The song was recorded and mixed by Adam in Athens, OH while the full album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Bernie Nau at Peachfork Studios in Pomeroy, OH (https://peachforkstudios.com/).
DAN CANTERBURY
Dan Canterbury on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@danielcanterbury9218
Dan Canterbury: Live from Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHcao2v5g0I
Daniel Canterbury: “Christian Ain’t”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PTzfGkqzTM
Daniel Canterbury: “Destination’s Gun”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sUmlvwk8fA
Daniel Canterbury: “Train Thing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J1XlO_FRPo
Dan Canterbury: “Athens County Line”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_UqTaRAE98
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RETELLINGS OF A CLASSIC WORK OF LITERATURE
Arden of Faversham: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Arraignment, or Poetaster: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Case is Altered: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Catiline’s Conspiracy: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Epicene: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Every Man Out of His Humor: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Fountain of Self-Love, or Cynthia’s Revels: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Magnetic Lady, or Humors Reconciled: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The New Inn, or The Light Heart: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Sejanus’ Fall: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Staple of News: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s A Tale of a Tub: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Complete Plays: Retellings
Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text and of the 1616 B-Text
Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s The Rich Jew of Malta: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2: Retellings
Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Inferno: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Paradise: A Retelling in Prose
The Famous Victories of Henry V: A Retelling
From the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna’s Posthomerica
George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston’s Eastward Ho! A Retelling
George Peele’s The Arraignment of Paris: A Retelling
George Peele’s The Battle of Alcazar: A Retelling
George’s Peele’s David and Bathsheba, and the Tragedy of Absalom: A Retelling
George Peele’s Edward I: A Retelling
George Peele’s The Old Wives’ Tale: A Retelling
George-a-Greene: A Retelling
The History of King Leir: A Retelling
Homer’s Iliad: A Retelling in Prose
Homer’s Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose
J.W. Gent.’s The Valiant Scot: A Retelling
Jason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica
John Ford: Eight Plays Translated into Modern English
John Ford’s The Broken Heart: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Fancies, Chaste and Noble: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Lady’s Trial: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy: A Retelling
John Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice: A Retelling
John Ford’s Perkin Warbeck: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Queen: A Retelling
John Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Campaspe: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Endymion, The Man in the Moon: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Galatea: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Love’s Metamorphosis: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Midas: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Mother Bombie: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Sappho and Phao: A Retelling
John Lyly’s The Woman in the Moon: A Retelling
John Webster’s The White Devil: A Retelling
King Edward III: A Retelling
Mankind: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)
Margaret Cavendish’s The Unnatural Tragedy: A Retelling
The Merry Devil of Edmonton: A Retelling
The Summoning of Everyman: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)
Robert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: A Retelling
The Taming of a Shrew: A Retelling
Tarlton’s Jests: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Roaring Girl: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s The Changeling: A Retelling
The Trojan War and Its Aftermath: Four Ancient Epic Poems
Virgil’s Aeneid: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 5 Late Romances: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 10 Histories: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 11 Tragedies: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 12 Comedies: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 1: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 2: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 1: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 2: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 3: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Henry V: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s King John: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s King Lear: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Othello: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Richard II: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Richard III: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: A Retelling in Prose
CHILDREN’S BIOGRAPHY
Nadia Comaneci: Perfect Ten
PERSONAL FINANCE BOOK
How to Manage Your Money: A Guide for the Non-Rich
ANECDOTE COLLECTIONS
250 Anecdotes About Opera
250 Anecdotes About Religion
250 Anecdotes About Religion: Volume 2
250 Music Anecdotes
Be a Work of Art: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
The Coolest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in the Arts: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes
Create, Then Take a Break: 250 Anecdotes
Don’t Fear the Reaper: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Dance: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 4: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 5: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 6: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Relationships: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Sports, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Theater: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People Who Live Life: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
Maximum Cool: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People Who Live Life: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
Reality is Fabulous: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Resist Psychic Death: 250 Anecdotes
Seize the Day: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Kindest People Series
The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1
The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2
Free Philosophy for the Masses Series
Philosophy for the Masses: Ethics
Philosophy for the Masses: Metaphysics and More
Philosophy for the Masses: Religion
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GEORGE ORWELL: 1984
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- RISE ABOVE.
Theater director Tyrone Guthrie advised his actors and crew to do this. The advice means to rise above whatever forces are working against you. All of us have personal problems. No one’s life is perfect. Sometimes, life seems to conspire against us. Rise above all that, and produce the best work you can.
- ASTONISH ME.
Dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev advised his choreographers to do this. The advice means what it says. Do such good work that the person who commissioned the work—and of course the audience—is astonished. (Tyrone Guthrie also used this phrase.)
- DO IT NOW.
As a young man, choreographer George Balanchine nearly died and so he believed in living his life day by day and not holding anything back. He would tell his dancers, “Why are you stingy with yourselves? Why are you holding back? What are you saving for—for another time? There are no other times. There is only now. Right now.” Throughout his career, including before he became world renowned, he worked with what he had, not complaining about wanting a bigger budget or better dancers. One of the pieces of advice Mr. Balanchine gave over and over was this: “Do it now.”
- GO OUT AND GET ONE.
Ruth St. Denis once taught Martha Graham an important lesson when Ms. Graham was just starting to dance. Ms. St. Denis told Ms. Graham, “Show me your dance.” Ms. Graham replied, “I don’t have one,” and Ms. St. Denis advised, “Well, dear, go out and get one.” (Everyone needs an art to practice. Your art need not be dance. Perhaps your art can be writing autobiographical essays. Of course, you may practice more than one art.)
- WORK A LITTLE HARDER.
“I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self-esteem is actually quite good—maybe you’re not the best, so you should work a little harder.”—Jay Leno
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