David Bruce Anecdotes
Anecdotes are usually short humorous stories. Sometimes they are thought-provoking or informative, not amusing.
Football
• In 1982, when the Super Bowl pitted Cincinnati against San Francisco, a young church-going woman admitted that she had bet $2 on Cincinnati, and after Mass on Super Bowl Sunday, she asked her priest, Msgr. Vincent Fecher, if that were wrong. He replied, “This is so important, I don’t want to decide. But I’ll tell you what: I was going back into church for something; why don’t I just ask the Lord if it was wrong?” Father Vincent returned in a few moments, and the young woman asked, “What did He say?” Father Vincent replied, “He said yes, it was wrong. You should have bet the $2 on San Francisco.” (By the way, San Francisco defeated Cincinnati, 26-21.)
• When Bo Jackson, a professional baseball player for the Kansas City Chiefs, started playing professional football for the Los Angeles Raiders, people wondered how well he would do. He soon showed them. In his fifth game for the Raiders, he made a 91-yard touchdown, running so hard that he crossed the end zone and ran into a tunnel that led to the locker rooms. When he returned to the end zone, he pretended to swing at the football with an imaginary baseball bat.
• The first football (and soccer ball) was a human head. In the 8th century, the Vikings invaded England and were defeated. The English soldiers decapitated the Viking leader and used his head to play a kicking game. Later, the same game was played with a blown-up cow bladder. Because the cow bladder kept popping, pigskin was used to cover it and give it durability. Today, the inside rubber bag of a football is known as a bladder, and the football is known as a pigskin.
• Ohio sportscaster Jimmy Crum frequently watched Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes during practice. Once a linesman got creamed at the line and Mr. Hayes yelled at him, “How many times do I have to tell you, before you run — think, think, think!” A few minutes later, the same linesman was again creamed at the line. This time Mr. Hayes yelled, “How many times do I have to tell you, don’t think — just run, run, run!”
• Lakia Washington was the only girl player on the Groton School football team. The male members of the team supported her, and they always told her not to take off her helmet until after the game — when the other team would discover that one of the people who had been running touchdowns against them was a girl.
Gambling
• Chris Lemmon, the son of Jack Lemmon, once got lucky when a race tout gave him tips that turned out to be four winners in a row. Actor Walter Matthau heard him talk about his winnings, didn’t believe him, and said, “I’ve got a Martian living in my house. His name’s Harry, and he’s from Mars.” Chris protested that he had actually had four winners in a row, and he said that he would share the tout’s next tip with him. Walter said, “Harry and I’ll be waiting.” Eventually, the tout arrived and gave a tip, Chris shared the tip with Walter, both Chris and Walter bet on the recommended horse, and the horse lay down and took a nap when the race started. Walter told Chris, “You know that Martian I told you about, the one living in my house? Well, his relatives moved in.”
• After Jim Thorpe retired as a professional athlete, he worked as an extra in movies. Once, he and several other extras participated in a contest to see who could make the longest standing long jump. Betting on the outcome was William Frawley, who later played Fred Mertz in the TV sitcom I Love Lucy. Mr. Frawley knew of Mr. Thorpe’s athletic prowess, so he bet on the “old” man. Mr. Frawley won his bet, and Mr. Thorpe’s jump of 10 feet, 8 inches, was only 6 inches shy of the current world record.
Gifts
• When NFL player Esera Tuaolo decided to come out of the closet, the media took notice. New York Timessportswriter Bob Lipsyte wrote a sensitive article. Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel on HBO did a very good piece. Mr. Tualo then appeared on Good Morning America, and the show was broadcast live on a JumboTron screen in Times Square. The Good Morning America studios overlook Times Square, and after the interview Mr. Tualo was a hero on Times Square. Celebrity publicist Howard Bragman, who has helped many athletes and actors come out, says, “Real New Yorkers — the hot dog vendors and cops on the street, no quiche eaters they — hailed Tuaolo as a star and a hero for his courage. They were giving him free hot dogs, free T-shirts — you would never have believed it was New York.”
***
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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TIM PFAFF
Tim Pfaff: “Rest in Peace”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zota9d-Z9nQ
Tim Pfaff: “Down the Road a Spell”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YUn-3iVTf0
Tim Pfaff: “That Picture of JFK”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ujRHZh4Vk
Tim Pfaff: “All I Really Want to Do”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC8hE2nZwzA
Tim Pfaff: “Do You Want to Be in Love”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvZYUtqfL0U
Tim Pfaff: “Coonskin Maple Water”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2hoKhkdrI
TIM PFAFF: INTERPRETIVE PLANNER — EXHIBIT DEVELOPER/WRITER — SONGWRITER
Every story has a thousand and one entry points. Once you start exploring, the story opens up. It reveals its layers, its players, its personality. You begin to see yourself in the tale, and you wonder how to give other people that same experience.
I have been at this for more than three decades. In the process, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with a host of talented designers, architects, producers, scholars, curators and artists. You never know where that next big idea will come from. So put aside your ego. Shakespeare was right—there are surely more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.
Tim Pfaff Biography:
Tim Pfaff Official Website:
Tim Pfaff on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@timpfaff468
TIM PFAFF ALBUMS: Listen to his albums FREE below:
TOM RIGGS
TOM RIGGS: Music to Consider (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/@riggsviews
Tom Riggs is famous for recording local and regional (and national and international) music and posting the videos on YouTube.
Here are a few of his many videos:
Caitlin Kraus: “Make It Clear” (Caitlin Kraus performs “Make It Clear” Aug. 17, 2023, at the Athens (OH) Community Center.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1isFj2Oxiu4
Caitlin Kraus: “Strange Other” (Caitlin Kraus performs “Strange Other” Aug. 17, 2023, at the Athens (OH) Community Center.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Wc3pkXIiA
Caitlin Kraus: “Gone Beyond” (Caitlin Kraus performs “Gone Beyond” Aug. 17, 2023, at the Athens (OH) Community Center.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4zFYr55b5E
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.
Lyrics for “This Body”:
This body is temporary, but while it’s here / It’s not yours to hold captive in fear / This body is mine, it was never yours / So fuck your laws and gods and guns / I get to say what I put inside / I GET TO CHOOSE, IT IS MY RIGHT / This body is sacred, but only safe / When I’m in charge, you have no claim / This body is proud and wears the crown / Makes the decisions and won’t back down / I get to say what I put inside / I GET TO CHOOSE, IT IS MY RIGHT / And don’t tell me who I can love or about my identity / Don’t use your privilege to subject your patriarchy / I get to say what I put inside / I GET TO CHOOSE, IT IS MY RIGHT
Adam Remnant: “Three Days”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlOwxr304c
Lucinda Williams: “Drunken Angel”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMMW34kjNsQ
Bruce Dalzell: “My Baby Scares Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtcYeoj9vw4&list=PL3X4xRPh97Z8Tn8FMd7Z8pXcw50pIkqnE
Bruce Dalzell: “You Always Make Me Smile”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq0JGVj9qgA&list=PL3X4xRPh97Z8Tn8FMd7Z8pXcw50pIkqnE&index=3
Sad Girls — “Love Yourself”
Track: “Love Yourself”
Album: GIRLS ROCK CAMP BRAZIL 2018
Artist: Sad Girls
Artist Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Info:
Sad Girls é:
Vocal – Maya
Baixo – Luíza
Guitarra – Giovana
Guitarra – Maíra
Bateria – Julia
Teclado – Laís
“LOVE YOURSELF” CHORUS
Você não sabe como eu me sinto, quando você me critica
Eu posso e vou amar meu corpo como ele é
Você não sabe como eu me sinto, quando você me critica
Eu posso e vou amar meu corpo como ele é
You don’t know how I feel, when you criticize me
I can and will love my body as it is
You don’t know how I feel, when you criticize me
I can and will love my body as it is
Price: FREE DOWNLOAD for 15-track album
Genre: Rock. Riot Grrrl.
Links:
WORDPRESS EMBED CODE:
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
SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCE
My FREE eBooks can be downloaded here in various formats, including PDF and ePub:
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https://freeditorial.com/en/books/filter-author/david-bruce
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https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/brucebATohioDOTedu
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
http://www.classicallibrary.org/index.htm
https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.com/
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu
https://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain/category/FBFIC000000/sub
GEORGE ORWELL: 1984
You may download it FREE here:
https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20120511
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/nineteen-eighty-four-ebook.html
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
davidbruceblog #4 