David Bruce Anecdotes
Anecdotes are usually short humorous stories. Sometimes they are thought-provoking or informative, not amusing.
Fights
• Joe Louis defeated Max Baer after Mr. Baer was counted out after getting up on one knee. Mr. Baer retained a sense of humor about his loss. When someone asked how he felt about being counted out when he was on one knee, he said, “I could have struggled up once more, but when I get executed, people are going to have to pay more than $25 a seat to watch it.”
• Oliver Marcelle played third base in the 1920s. Unfortunately, despite being an outstanding third baseman, he had a hot temper and constantly fought both members of other teams and his own teammates. His career ended because of fighting — he retired after a teammate bit off his nose.
Food
• During the Jim Crow days, black ballplayers often carried food with them while traveling because sometimes they had trouble finding a restaurant to serve them. “Borrowing” was common on the team buses and cars, and so ballplayers would go to great lengths to protect their food. Harry Kincannon, a pitcher, once brought some fried chicken onto the team bus. He ate some of it, then he pulled out a gun and threatened his teammates, saying that if any of them wanted to taste lead all they had to do was to taste his chicken. Mr. Kincannon then fell asleep. One teammate relieved him of the gun and unloaded it, and another teammate relieved him of his fried chicken and passed pieces of it around to other players. After all of the chicken had been eaten, they made a necklace out of the bones and put it around Mr. Kincannon’s neck. When Mr. Kincannon woke up, everyone, including Mr. Kincannon, laughed.
• Back in the days when Romania was a Communist country and much of its food was exported, food for its own citizens could be rare, even for people such as Nadia Comaneci, after she retired from gymnastics. She had an old neighbor, around 70 years old, named Aleca Petre, who would get up early at 4 a.m., then stand in line during cold winter weather to get into a grocery store to see what food was on the shelves. According to Nadia, most of the time only beans, mustard, and mayonnaise were on the shelves. However, he would bring her milk when he could — and sometimes even some meat. Nadia points out that Romanians were always willing to share what food they had. She says, “That is the way Romanians are: We share what we have.”
• A horse trainer named “Fatty” Anderson was a big eater, and he competed in eating contests. In one contest against a champion eater from Cuba, the two big eaters ate many chickens and many pounds of oysters, and then started in on apple pies. The Cuban eater was beaten, but Mr. Anderson finished eating his most recent apple pie, then took the last remaining piece of pie from the Cuban’s plate and signaled for a waiter — he wanted a slice of cheese put on the piece of apple pie.
• In 1963, in the back room of Trader Vic’s, a San Francisco restaurant, world champion eater Bozo Miller made big money by eating 27 two-pound chickens. For a while, his competitor kept up, but eventually the competitor stopped eating, remained sitting, and watched Mr. Miller eat his way to a $10,000 purse. To eat that much, Mr. Miller trained hard. For two weeks he stuffed himself to stretch his stomach into competitive shape — and he gained over 25 pounds.
• As a young man, world-class women’s gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi found work in a slaughterhouse in his native Romania. This job wasn’t all bad, since he could hide meat in his pocket at the end of the day and be sure he would eat supper that night.
• In 1973, at the Chunichi Cup, American gymnast Joan Rice helped satisfy Soviet gymnast Ludmila Tourischeva’s sweet tooth (and break training) by using a rope to lower Coca-Colas from her hotel window two stories below to Ludmila’s window.
Football
• When Donovan McNabb, later a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was in the seventh grade, he started playing football, first as a running back, then as a quarterback. His parents motivated him to score. His father says, “We told him we’d give him $10 for each touchdown, and if he didn’t score, he’d have extra duties in the house. That started getting expensive, so we [reduced the reward amount and] broke out the $5 bills.” For his first couple of years at Syracuse University, Mr. McNabb played basketball as well as football, but the amount of time it took to go from in shape for football to in shape for basketball reduced his basketball playing time and he spent a lot of time on the bench. When the Syracuse Orangeman lost to the University of Kentucky in the 1996 NCAA Championship game, Mr. McNabb did not play; however, he led the cheering for his team from the bench. Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim said, “Usually when a guy wants to play and he’s good and he’s not playing, he’s not man enough to still support the team. But there was Donovan, pumping guys up, slapping them on the back, leading the bench guys.”
***
FREE eBook: THE MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE IN SPORTS
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FREE eBook: THE MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE IN RELIGION
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/107097
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FRANK MCDERMOTT
Frank McDermott: “Frank Plays a Uke”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0owHBsMGKws
A Conversation with Frank McDermott at Blue Eagle Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySQJTBVcD-A
Supernobody: “Make the Music Sway”
Single from Reliquary 2017 – Unauthorized tribute to Blue Eagle Music. All pics by Frank McDermott and Megan Bee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumoiw0oki4
THE LOCAL GIRLS
ALBUM: LET YOURSELF GO
https://www.amazon.com/Let-Yourself-Go-Local-Girls/dp/B0016XDUBQ/
THE LOCAL GIRLS: “A La Nanita”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adjPudbHWUY
THE LOCAL GIRLS: “Ready On The Firing Line” (JD Hutchison cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLxBT4AhUyY
LIVE FROM HOME: BRUCE AND GAY DALZELL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLetQfocFGA
SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCE
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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
SOME SOURCES FOR FREE EBOOKS
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com
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https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.com/
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GEORGE ORWELL: 1984
You may download it FREE here:
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https://freeditorial.com/en/books/1984-by-george-orwell
- 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
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.
CAITLIN KRAUS ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/caitlinkrausmusic
CAITLIN KRAUS MUSIC
CAITLIN KRAUS ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinkrausmusic/
CAITLIN KRAUS ON BANDCAMP
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com
CAITLIN KRAUS: GONE BEYOND album
CAITLIN KRAUS: WHAT RISES album
CAITLIN KRAUS: “Waiting for the World” / “Dead Man” EP
davidbruceblog #4 