The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds, Volume 5: 250 Anecdotes
Dedicated with Love to George Eugene Bruce
Copyright 2009 by Bruce D. Bruce
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All anecdotes are stated in my own words to avoid plagiarism.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The doing of good deeds is important. As a free person, you can choose to live your life as a good person or as a bad person. To be a good person, do good deeds. To be a bad person, do bad deeds. If you do good deeds, you will become good. If you do bad deeds, you will become bad. To become the person you want to be, act as if you already are that kind of person. Each of us chooses what kind of person we will become. To become a hero, do the things a hero does. To become a coward, do the things a coward does. The opportunity to take action to become the kind of person you want to be is yours.
This book is a collection of stories of good deeds. Most of them I have encountered in my reading of print books and of essays on the WWW, then retold in my own words. This book is organized by topic. Many people in the arts, in religion, and in everyday life have done good deeds, and I am happy that such people exist in this world.
I hope that you enjoy reading this book, and I hope that you are inspired to do some good deeds of your own.
Bai Juyi went to Zen master Daolin of the Tang Dynasty and asked what one must do in order to live in accord with the Tao. Daolin answered, “One must avoid doing evil, and one must do as much good as possible.” Bai Juyi was surprised at the simplicity of this answer and said, “Even a child knows that.” “True,” replied Daolin, “even a child of three knows this but even a man of 80 fails to live up to it.” (1)
Long ago, Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski decided to go to medical school despite having a wife and two children (and a third child on its way). He managed to pay the bills, including tuition, for a while, but in the middle of his third year, he was no longer able to do so. In addition, he was deep in debt. However, his wife called him and told him that comedian Danny Thomas had pledged $4,000 to help him finish medical school. Mr. Thomas had met with officials from Marquette University, and they had told him about a Rabbi who needed financial help to get through medical school. Mr. Thomas asked, “How much money does he need?” Hearing the answer—$4,000—he said, “Tell your Rabbi he’s got it.” Mr. Thomas is a Christian, but he generously helped a Jew. Rabbi Abraham says, “Who would think of a less likely combination: a Lebanese Christian and a Chassidic Rabbi?” (2)
“If You Can’t Take Him, You Can’t Take Me”
Eddie Hunter, a black comedian, worked in vaudeville. Once he and a white entertainer went to a rooming house seeking shelter. The manager of the boarding house saw the two men and said, “I’ll take the white. Won’t take the colored.” The white entertainer spoke up and said, “If you can’t take him, you can’t take me.” Mr. Hunter said, “Don’t do that because of me. No sense in you suffering,” but the white entertainer replied, “No, I meant that. If he can’t take you, he can’t take me.” (3)
Who Helped Him?
Satiric comedian Lenny Bruce got his start by doing imitations of such famous actors as Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart—with a German accent. In his later act, Mr. Bruce sometimes made fun of old-time entertainers. But guess who helped him when he was unable to get work and needed money? Old-time entertainers. Milton Berle helped him, Buddy Hackett helped him, Jackie Gayle helped him, and Sammy Davis Jr. helped him. (4)
Avoiding Potters’ Field
Comedian Jackie Gleason grew up poor. When his mother died, it looked as if she would be buried in a potters’ field due to lack of money for a proper funeral. Fortunately, her fellow workers at the BMT—she worked in the subway as a token clerk—took up a collection and came up with enough money so that she could receive a proper funeral. Jackie’s Aunt Maggie also gave him $5 so that he could buy flowers. Jackie had 36 cents, and he headed to the subway after the funeral so that he could go to Times Square and make a career for himself in show business. Despite his lack of money, he did not jump over the turnstile. Instead, he paid the five cents. He said, “All the other guys in our block used to play a game jumping over the turnstile to beat the BMT out of a nickel. I couldn’t do it, knowing what my mom went through on that job.” (5)
An Advertisement with Humor
When Paul Dver was a high-school student, he met comedian Soupy Sales, became friends with him, and even occasionally talked to him on the telephone. Paul would tell his fellow high-school students that he was friends with Soupy Sales, and of course they didn’t believe him. One day, Paul asked Soupy for a favor. Paul and a friend were appearing in a play, and Paul asked Soupy to record an advertisement for them because if it were recorded in Soupy’s voice the local radio station would play it. Soupy did more than just record the advertisement as written. He threw in some ad-libs and made it funny. Of course, Paul’s high-school friends were amazed to hear Soupy’s voice on the radio advertising Paul and his friend’s play. (6)
Pass It On
While performing live, Whoopi Goldberg played the part of a little girl who was dying. In the character of the little girl, Ms. Goldberg stepped off the stage, walked up to a man in the front row of the theater, gave him a hug and a kiss, and asked him to pass it on. The hug and the kiss traveled down the front row as each audience member passed the hug and the kiss on to the next audience member. (7)
Popov: A Clown with Wisdom
During the Cold War, Popov was a clown who was very popular in Russia. In one of his acts, a scale with two weighing pans is seen on the stage. A man dressed as a New York tycoon walks on stage carrying a huge Atom Bomb and puts it in one of the weighing pans—of course, the pan with the Atom Bomb is heavier than the other, empty weighing pan, and it sinks down. Popov then walks on stage, takes off his hat, and reveals a small white dove, the symbol of peace. Popov puts the small dove in the other weighing pan—which sinks down, showing that Peace outweighs War. Soviet audiences loved this act. (8)
The Poor of the Parish
When English comedian Spike Milligan was young and living at home, he played trumpet in a band. Each time he got paid, he gave most of the money to his mother, who then gave most of it to the church to help the Poor of the Parish. This surprised young Spike, because he felt that he and his family were the Poor of the Parish. (9)
An Embarrassed Waitress
Country comedian Jerry Clower once heard a story about a Christian businessman in a restaurant. When a waitress accidentally poured hot soup all over the businessman’s suit, he didn’t get angry and yell. Instead, he said to her, “Young lady, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I know it embarrasses you.” (10)
No Discrimination
Comedian Red Buttons did a lot of benefits for charity. For whom? He used to answer, “Benefits for Israel and everyone—no discrimination when it comes to helping the poor and needy.” (11)
A Famous Bartender
Bud Abbott used his profits from the comedy team of Abbott and Costello to build a mansion with a huge bar. Occasionally, strangers would drop in, thinking the mansion was a real bar open for business, and order a drink. Mr. Abbott served them. (12)
In the winter of early 2009, Jaehnel Leduc, a resident of Hackettstown, New Jersey, was going to a business on Main Street when she saw a group of approximately 15 young men shoveling snow. She asked if they were being paid, but they replied that they were athletes on the wrestling team of Centenary College in Hackettstown. Their wrestling match had been cancelled, so they had decided to do a good deed for the town and shovel the snow on Main Street. Jaehnel offered to buy the young men lunch, but one young man replied, “Thank you, but it wouldn’t be a good deed if we did it for money.” Jaehnel wrote in a letter to the Warren Reporter, “Good people and good deeds do still exist. What a wonderful community we live in.” (13)
No Publicity for a Good Deed
In 1932, in Chicago, Babe Ruth and Grantland Rice had dinner together on the eve of the World Series. Babe got up to leave, and Mr. Rice asked where he was going. Babe told him, but he made Mr. Rice promise not to write about what he was going to do. Babe was leaving to make a trip to deliver a baseball to a very ill child. The trip took one hour each way, and as Babe had requested, there was no publicity. (14)
A Kind Man to Adults and to Children
Hard-hitting Hall-of-Fame shortstop Honus Wagner was a kind man. When he was the coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of his players struck out with the bases loaded. Mr. Wagner comforted the player by saying to him, “Do you know, I went up to the plate with the bases full once, and it was in World’s Series time, too. A little hit of mine would have scored the winning run, and do you know, I struck out, too.” Actually, Mr. Wagner fibbed a little. He did go to bat with the bases loaded during a World-Series game, but he hit for extra bases instead of striking out. By the way, the most valuable baseball card in history is the very rare 1910 Honus Wagner card. Mr. Wagner himself is the reason the baseball card is so rare. A tobacco company issued the baseball card, putting it in packs of cigarettes, and Mr. Wagner told the tobacco company to withdraw the card. He knew that the photographer who had taken his photograph for the baseball card had been paid $10. He did not want the photographer to lose out on the money, so he sent the photographer a check for $10 and a letter that stated, “I don’t want you to miss a chance to sell a picture, but I don’t want my photograph used to sell cigarettes to kids.” For many years, the photographer proudly displayed that letter in his shop window. The tobacco company stopped issuing the card, and only the few that had already been issued stayed in circulation. (15)
Keeping a Future Great from Quitting
During his career, African-American baseball player Frank Robinson had to endure a lot of racism. While he was still a minor-league player for the Columbia, South Carolina, team in the South Atlantic, aka Sally, League, he could hear racial taunts from the fans while he was playing or in the dugout. At one point, he decided to quit professional baseball. His team left to go on a road trip, but he stayed behind and started packing. Fortunately, the only other black player on the team, Marv Williams, also stayed behind and talked to him all night and convinced him not to quit. If not for Mr. Williams, Mr. Robinson would never have hit 586 career home runs in the major leagues and have won a World Series ring with the Baltimore Orioles. (16)
Nothing to Worry About
Ernie Banks was the first African-American athlete to play for the Chicago Cubs, and he worried about how the veterans Cubs would treat an African-American rookie. He needn’t have worried. When he walked into the Cubs for the first time, three players were there: home-run hitter Hank Sauer and infielders Randy Jackson and Bill Serena. All three players shook Mr. Banks’ hand and welcomed him to the Cubs. The same thing happened when he met home-run hitter Ralph Kiner. During batting practice, Mr. Banks had no bats of his own, so he asked Mr. Kiner if he could use one of his bats. Mr. Kiner had no objections. Mr. Banks hit the first pitch thrown to him into the left-field bleachers, and the Cubs were silent for a moment, then Mr. Kiner yelled to Mr. Banks, “Hey, Banks! You can use all my bats if you promise to keep on hitting like that!” (17)
Free Food
Minor-league baseball players don’t make much money, and major-league baseball players make a lot of money. Once in a while, a major-league player will go down into the minor leagues to rehab after an injury. A tradition has sprung up that the major-league player will buy a meal for the entire minor-league team. This is quite a good tradition because some minor-league players find it difficult to pay rent and buy food during the season. During the 2004 season, the Tampa Yankees enjoyed a truckload of Hooters wings, courtesy of Jon Lieber, and they enjoyed P.F. Chang’s Chinese food and Outback Steakhouse steaks, courtesy of Jason Giambi. (Another good thing about minor-league baseball is creative promotions. In 2002, the Nashua Pride had a “Who Wants to be a Turkish Millionaire” promotion. Fans who correctly answered a trivia question received a million Turkish lira. At the time, that was worth $1.16.) (18)
Good Deeds Galore
Of course, major-league baseball player Roberto Clemente was a hero in his native Puerto Rico, and often he found that people there would not take his money when he ate a meal or wanted to buy something. Once, he tried unsuccessfully to pay for something he wanted to buy, but the store owner explained that he would not take Roberto’s money because when he was a kid, he had tried to get a foul ball, but an older, stronger fan had taken it from him. The next inning, Roberto gave him a baseball to replace “the one they took away from you.” The man said, “That’s why I can’t charge you.” Roberto was always good to fans. He said, “I send out 20,000 autographed pictures a year to the kids.” Why? He explained, “A country without idols is nothing.” In addition, he signed many, many autographs because “I believe we owe something to the people who watch us. They work hard for their money.” He also looked out for other players from Puerto Rico, such as pitcher John Candelaria, who says, “The first Pirate I met when they were trying to sign me was Clemente. Clemente was supposed to be arguing for the front office. But while they were trying to talk me into signing, Clemente kept telling me in Spanish, ‘You can get more money.’” (19)
The Fountain of the Shoeshine Boys
MLB great Sammy Sosa grew up in the Dominican Republic, where he was so impoverished that he used to play baseball using a rolled-up sock for a ball, a carved tree limb or a stick for a bat, and a milk carton or cardboard wrapped with tape around his hand for a glove. He had no cleats, but of course he was playing barefoot. When he first started playing professional baseball, he was offered $3,000, asked for $4,000, and compromised for $3,500. He used some of the money to buy himself a used bicycle, and then he gave the rest to his mother. Later, the Chicago Cubs gave him a $42 million, 4-year contract. This time, he bought himself a 60-foot yacht, which he named the Sammy Jr. Of course, he had all along been taking care of his mother, including building a beautiful home for her. He has also started the Sammy Sosa Foundation, given toys to inner-city children, and spent much, much money to help people in his native Dominican Republic, including building a medical clinic at 30-30 Plaza, which acquired its name as a result of a 30 home-run, 30 stolen-base season by Mr. Sosa. A statue of Mr. Sosa is in the plaza, as well as a fountain that is known as the Fountain of the Shoeshine Boys. All of the money thrown into the fountain is given to the shoeshine boys. Mr. Sosa came up with this idea—when he was a kid, he had shined shoes. (20)
A Classy Way to Go
In 1997, the California Angels released pitcher Jim Abbott, who immediately did something classy—he took out ads in two newspapers in southern California to thank the fans: “Angel Fans … Thanks For The Cheers … Thanks For The Jeers … Thanks For The Memories … All My Best—Jim Abbott.” (21)
A Sharp-Eyed Usher
Usher Vickie Gutierrez noticed that Los Angeles Dodgers regulars Rick and Nancy Colton had been absent from a number of games, the result of Nancy’s need for chemotherapy due to her breast cancer. When they returned to watch a game, she greeted them and made sure that Dodgers customer relations knew that they had returned. Good move. The Dodgers organization gave Nancy a hat and jersey. In addition, the Dodgers organization asked Nancy to throw the first pitch on Mother’s Day of 2008, a day on which her 9-year-old son, Andy, took the opportunity to ask Dodger James Loney for a favor: to hit a home run for his mother. The very first time Mr. Loney batted in the game, he hit a home run. (22)
Two Good Deeds
In McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a 17-year-old student named Adam Ference was shot in the head on a school bus by a student who then shot himself. Adam was seriously wounded, and he underwent brain surgery. NBA star Michael Jordan found out that he was Adam’s favorite player, so he sent Adam an autographed pair of his Chicago Bulls’ shorts. He also met Adam and listened to him. Afterward, Michael thanked Adam’s parents: “I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet this young man.” Mr. Jordan also did other good deeds. After a game, he saw a boy wandering the streets at night. Mr. Jordan gave the boy the Air Jordan shoes that he had just played in—after making the boy promise to go to school the next day. (23)
A Women’s Basketball Star
Caroline Mast, who played women’s basketball for Ohio University in the 1980s, was a solid player who did not dazzle with acrobatics. After her games—and I personally witnessed many of them—fans would think that Caroline had a quiet night although her team had won yet again. Then the fans would look at the box score that see that she had scored 30-plus points again. Ohio University Sports Information Director Glenn Coble once sent film to a person who evaluated candidates for All-American honors. Mr. Coble says that the person returned the film. He adds, “I was told she wasn’t flashy enough to be All-American.” However, Central Michigan coach Donita Davenport said about Caroline, “If I had to put together a scouting report on Mast, I’d suggest they lock the bus, and if they don’t let her off the bus, I think they could hold her to 20.” In 1986, Caroline scored 33 points and led Ohio to a 92-85 overtime victory over Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference championship game. After the game, most of the Ohio University players could be seen celebrating in the middle of the court. Caroline could be seen by the Central Michigan bench, shaking hands with Central Michigan players. I (David Bruce, the author of the book you are reading now) can vouch for the fact that Caroline is a kind, considerate person. When I was a sports reporter for The Athens News, I covered both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which played games on the same night: The women played their game first, and the men played their game afterward. In one game, Caroline set yet another record, and I needed a quotation from her quickly because the men had started play and I needed to watch that game. As soon as Caroline heard that a reporter needed a quotation quickly, she came out of the women’s locker room and gave me the quotation I needed. By the way, Caroline was an excellent student at Ohio University as well as an excellent athlete and an excellent person. I was teaching in the Ohio University philosophy department when she took logic from a friend of mine. She missed one class all quarter, and after missing that one class she saw her teacher during his office hours and apologized to him. Now Caroline Mast Daugherty, she was inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame in 1994. (24)
“Take Your Time Coming Back”
Keith Van Horn was a stand-out basketball player at the University of Utah, and he later played in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets. On January 26, 1994, while Keith was playing for the University of Utah, his father, Ken Van Horn, died, and his mother wanted Keith’s coach, Rick Majerus, to tell him. Rick had had heart problems like Ken Van Horn, and his own father had died, so he was able to relate to much of what Keith was going through. Later, Keith said about Rick, “We went out at two-thirty in the morning to a coffee shop. We just talked about things, our fathers, other things like that. He helped me through a very hard time in my life. He kind of gave me a cheat sheet of the kind of feelings I was going to have and what I was going to go through.” Rick said about Keith, “He was just overcome with the sadness of it, and he was overcome with grief and the finality of it.” Of course, Keith took a plane back home to see his family and attend the funeral. Even though it was the middle of basketball season, Rick—aka Coach Majerus—told Keith to take his time coming back to school and the team—he did not have to return until he was ready. Rick said, “I told him I don’t care about basketball. I don’t care if he plays next week or doesn’t play next week. … Keith is devastated. I lost my dad, and it was the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with in my own life.” (25)
Helping a Paralyzed Friend
Maurice Stokes played center for the Rochester-Cincinnati Royals (now they are the Sacramento Kings), along with forward Jack Twyman. In 1957, during a play-off game, Mr. Stokes’ head hit the floor hard. He got up, but later while on an airplane he started vomiting and became so ill that he was baptized and given last rites on the plane. It turned out that he was suffering from a head injury. Both Mr. Stokes and Mr. Twyman lived in Cincinnati, and Mr. Twyman visited Mr. Stokes for four months while Mr. Stokes was in a coma. When Mr. Stokes came out of the coma, he was paralyzed and could not speak. Mr. Twyman devised a way for Mr. Stokes to communicate. Mr. Twyman recited the alphabet and when he reached the letter that Mr. Stokes wanted, Mr. Stokes blinked. Later, after Mr. Stokes regained some movement in a few fingers, Mr. Stokes drew a diagram of typewriter keys on a piece of cardboard and Mr. Stokes pointed to the letters and spelled out words. In addition, Mr. Stokes and the NBA raised much money for Mr. Stokes. The Celtics, Hawks, Pistons, and Royals all paid their own expenses as they put on a doubleheader with the profits going to Mr. Stokes’ care. Fans also sent contributions. One fan who sent money in a letter to Mr. Twyman wrote, “Where else but in this country could I, a Jew, send money to you, a Catholic, to help a black man?” (26)
“I’m a Jew, G*dd*mnit!”
Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach, who was Jewish, stood up for the people he respected. One day, Celtic head Walter Brown took a telephone call from a man who accused the Celtics of being anti-Semitic because they had cut a basketball player who was Jewish. Red was in the office when Mr. Brown got the telephone call. Red got on the telephone and said, “This is Red Auerbach! Listen, you f**kin’ Heeb! I’m a Jew, g*dd*mnit! I cut that kid—he couldn’t f**kin’ play! Walter Brown is one of the finest human beings on the whole g*dd*mn planet! And you’re talking this sh*t to him! If I find out who you are, I’ll come over there and kick your *ss!” (27)
“Wasting” a Draft Pick
Landon Turner was the kind of player that Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach liked: hard-working, unselfish, and dedicated to winning basketball games. As you would expect, Mr. Turner’s dream was to be drafted by an NBA team. Unfortunately, Mr. Turner lost control of his car, crashed, and was paralyzed, ending his dream of playing pro basketball. But even though Mr. Turner was unable to walk, the Celtics drafted him in the final round of the 1982 NBA draft, thus fulfilling one of his dreams. A Celtics spokesperson stated, “We would have been honored to have him on our team. We felt this was one way to show how we felt about him.” (28)
Helping a Late Bloomer
NBA great Scottie Pippen was a late bloomer in basketball, and he almost did not go to college. Fortunately, his high school basketball coach, Don Wayne, came through in a big way for him. Coach Wayne telephoned Don Dyer, an old friend and the head basketball coach at the University of Central Arkansas, a small school. He explained that he had a prospect for him. The prospect—Scottie Pippen—might not be good enough to make the varsity squad, but he had been the student manager of the high school football team. Therefore, why not find some money for him to go to college? Maybe he would play varsity basketball and maybe he wouldn’t, but he could be a part-time practice player and the student manager of the team. Coach Dyer was willing to help a player who had been recommended by an old friend, and he found a work-study position that would allow Scottie to go to college. Of course, Mr. Pippen quickly stopped being the team’s student manager and started playing in games as a valuable substitute, and as a sophomore he really started playing well. Of course, he joined the Chicago Bulls and along with Michael Jordan helped lead the Bulls to three NBA championships in a row. (29)
A Telephone Call from a Boxing Legend
Mickey Rourke worked as a boxer, then he worked as an actor, and then he went back to boxing. (And now he’s acting again.) Before his 7th or 8th fight after his return to boxing, he was pretty nervous about the upcoming fight, he says, “because I was fighting a pretty tough cookie from the Bahamas with a really good record. I couldn’t sleep at night—my hands were sweating, my feet were sweating—and I’d get up, and I’d start shadowboxing. I was a nervous, shaking wreck.” Therefore, he called a photographer he knew named Howard Bingham, who had often worked with boxer Muhammad Ali. Mr. Rourke asked, “Howard, can you do me a favor? Man, I’ve got this fight, and I’m a nervous f**kin’ wreck. Do you think I can talk to Muhammad Ali? I think he could calm me down a little.” Mr. Bingham got in touch with Mr. Ali, who called Mr. Rourke in his room in Miami the following night. Mr. Ali knew exactly what Mr. Rourke was going through: “Yeah, you’re in bed, and you want your mama with you….” Mr. Rourke says about Mr. Ali’s telephone call: “It really helped so much. He spent 15 or 20 minutes on the phone with me. That’s a memory that I’ll always cherish.” (30)
Raising $590,000 for Charity
Jack Nicklaus performed a very good deed when he raised $590,000 for charity by playing one hole on each of 18 different golf courses. What was his means of transportation between holes? A helicopter. (31)
“You Take What You Need”
Professional golfer Sam Snead told risqué jokes, and he did a lot of good deeds in his community during his life. He gave money to county churches, he gave the local high school money for scholarships, he paid for the lights at the high school stadium, and when the high school football team won the state championship, he paid thousands of dollars to buy championship rings for the athletes. He bought his sister a house. He gave money to people with cancer. A golf pro named George Lowe tells a story about another golf pro named Porky Oliver, who had cancer. Mr. Snead visited Mr. Oliver and gave him a signed blank check, saying, “Porky, I have [this] amount of dollars. You take what you need.” (32)
A Kid with Stage Fright
Wayne Gretzky’s hero was Gordie Howe, whom he met at a sports award banquet when he was 11 years old. Wayne was called—unexpectedly—to the microphone to make a short speech, but he froze at the microphone with stage fright. Mr. Howe came through for him. He rose from his seat, put his arm around Wayne, and said, “When someone has done what this kid has done in the rink, he doesn’t have to say anything.” Later, Wayne broke many of the NHL scoring records of his friend Gordie. (33)
Big Paychecks and an Unusual English Tutor
When Mario Lemieux became a major-league hockey player with a big paycheck, he used one of those paychecks to buy his father a new Pontiac. (One clause of the contract stated that his team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, would give the Lemieux family a satellite dish so that they could watch Mario play hockey.) Later, he was named Most Valuable Player in an NHL All-Star game. The MVP prize was a Chevy Blazer, which he gave to one of his brothers. By the way, he spoke French, having grown up in Quebec. When he moved to the United States to play for the Penguins, he learned English by watching television soap operas. (34)
Loyalty
Brian Boitano shows loyalty. His first skating coach when he was a beginner was Linda Leaver. She recognized his potential first, and he stayed with her even after many, many people felt that he should leave her and be coached by someone with more experience with elite skaters. Even today, when he is an Olympic gold medalist and a professional figure skater, she coaches him when he is in the area where she lives. (35)
Great Athletes, and Great People
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are great athletes, and they are great people. In the semifinals of the beach volleyball event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, they defeated a very good Brazilian team. Afterward, they shook hands with the members of the Brazilian team, and they said “thank you” and shook hands with many, many volunteers who do such things as retrieve balls and rake the sand. In awe, journalist Mike Celizic wrote, “They literally chased down some of the volunteers from behind as they were leaving the court, not wanting them to get away without knowing how much their efforts were appreciated.” They also waved to the fans and promised to come back after the mandatory drug testing. They did come back, posing for photographs and signing autographs for many, many fans. And yes, they shook many, many more hands. (36)
Trimming the Hedges to Help a Neighborhood Kid
Lots of people considered Babe Didrikson Zaharias a natural athlete, but she denied it, saying that she worked very hard to be a successful athlete. When she was growing up, she ran everywhere and jumped hedges. She even asked her neighbors to trim their hedges to the same height; after all, hurdles on a track course were all the same height. The neighbors were happy to help her, and they trimmed their hedges the way she wished them to be. As a young adult, she competed in a track meet for the Employers Casualty Company, which was based in Dallas, Texas. She was the only athlete on the team, and when she arrived at the 1932 national AAU track and field championships (and Olympic trials) in Evanston, Illinois, she told the other teams, some of whom had over 20 athletes, “I’m going to lick you single-handed.” She did, scoring 30 points by herself! The second-place team, with 22 athletes, scored 22 points. She set three world records in three of the five events in which she placed first. She qualified for those five events at the 1932 Olympics, but because of official rules limiting the number of events a woman athlete could compete in, she was allowed to compete in only three events. She set world records as she won the gold medal in the javelin throw and the 80-meter hurdles. She tied for first in the high jump, but she was awarded the silver medal because her jumping style was unorthodox. Later, her jumping style—the “western roll”—became the standard style for high jumpers. (By the way, much later she was asked the year she was born. She answered, “The year 1919.” An amused friend heard her and said, “So you were 13 when you won all those Olympic medals?” Babe replied, “Aw, shut up.”) Babe later became a golf champion. Because professional golf for women did not exist, in 1947 she helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). (37)
“You Can Do Better than This”
Is the Olympic spirit a figment of the imagination? Not according to United States athlete Milt Campbell, who won the gold medal in the decathlon in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. The final event was the 1,500-meter run, and Mr. Campbell did not have to run full out and win the event to win the gold medal. However, as he was running behind another athlete, he heard Ian Bruce of Australia urging him to go full out. Mr. Bruce told him, “Come on. It’s time to run. You can do better than this.” Mr. Bruce then began sprinting, full out, and Mr. Campbell then began sprinting, full out. Mr. Campbell says, “I couldn’t believe it. Here’s a guy whom I never met urging me on.” (38)
Thanks for Helping Daughters
In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a battle of the sexes. Before the tennis match started, the two athletes put on a show. Ms. King was carried into the arena in a throne carried by men, while Mr. Riggs entered the arena in a rickshaw pulled by beautiful women. Ms. King gave Mr. Riggs a live pig in acknowledgement of his public persona as a male chauvinist pig. (Who knows what he believed privately?) Ms. King defeated Mr. Riggs to win a major victory for feminism, and immediately she was mobbed. Boxer George Foreman did a good deed by helping her get away from the mob, at whom he shouted, “Get away from her!” Of course, Ms. King showed the world just how good a female athlete could be, and many, many people thanked her for doing that. Later, many, many fathers thanked her for what she had done for their daughters. (39)
Groucho Marx was an excellent comedian, and in some ways he was an excellent man. He could make people laugh in person, and he could make people laugh through his writing. One of his friends was a writer named Al Sheekman, who occasionally had trouble selling comic essays. Both Groucho and Al would sometimes edit each other’s work. Whenever Al was having a hard time selling comic essays and really needed some money, Groucho would offer to put his name on one of Al’s comic essays and sell it. Groucho would sometimes edit the piece to make it sound more like Groucho, and he would sell the comic essay to a magazine. All the money thus obtained went to Al. Of course, Groucho could write funny all by himself, but he didn’t mind being a front in order to help a friend. (40)
“Hey, What’s the Problem?”
Australian author Bryce Courtenay has traveled much, and he has been mugged often. In New York a man hit him and knocked him down. He got up and asked, “What’s the matter?” The mugger said, Give me your wallet, buddy.” Mr. Courtenay replied, “No,” and the mugger hit him again and knocked him down. Again, Mr. Courtenay got up, and he asked, “Hey, what’s the problem?” The mugger replied, “My family hasn’t eaten for three days.” Mr. Courtenay said, “I’ve got lots of money.” He then bought the mugger lots and lots of groceries. (41)
Foster Children
Adrienne Adams and Lonzo Anderson collaborated in creating illustrated books, and they collaborated in nurturing foster children. They had an Indian foster child in Bogotá, Columbia, an Indian foster child in the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico, and a black godchild in the Virgin Islands. By the way, when Mr. Anderson was writing Night of the Silent Drums, he wrote in an outdoors gallery. At one point, when he was almost finished writing the book, he had a pile of approximately 1,300 typed pages with a stone as a paperweight, and he had a pile of approximately 1,300 carbon copies with another stone as a paperweight. Unfortunately, a bigger-than-normal gust of wind came along and blew the sheets of paper away from under the stones. Mr. Anderson says, “The pages were scattered over a wild mountainside, covered with every conceivable kind of thorn bush, cactus, indigenous tree, and wicked thorny plants carpeting the ground. It took me several days to find and rescue the pages.” (42)
An Exchange of Gifts
When Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was a small child, he was playing in his backyard when a child reached through a hole in the wooden fence and gave him a present: a small toy lamb. Young Pablo quickly retrieved a favorite possession—a pinecone and presented it to the child, whom he could not see, on the other side of the fence. The adult Mr. Neruda believed that “maybe this small and mysterious exchange of gifts remained inside me also, deep and inexhaustible, giving my poetry light.” In 1971, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. (43)
A Bill for $1
Larry Love of Alabama 3 respects the collected works of Hubert Selby Jr., author of Last Exit to Brooklyn, whom he describes as a “merchant seaman, suffering from TB and with a heroin habit that could kill an elephant.” Mr. Selby was a chronicler of the seedy side of life, and he could be a nice guy. Shortly before Mr. Selby’s death, when Alabama 3 wanted to use his voice briefly in a song titled “Moon has Lost the Sun,” he emailed the band. Mr. Love says, “He charged us $1 to clear its usage and thanked us for the privilege of letting him be associated with a band of our reputation.” By the way, Mr. Love, who like Mr. Selby skillfully uses words, says that he wants the epitaph on his gravestone to read, “I told you I was ill.” (44)
The Cave of the Mafia
In January 1965, as Gabriel García Marquez was driving from Mexico City to Acapulco, he had a flash of inspiration that told him exactly which tone to use in what would be his great novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The flash of inspiration was so great that he turned the car around and headed back to Mexico City so he could begin writing the novel right away. For 18 months, Mr. Marquez wrote in his room—a room that his friends started calling the Cave of the Mafia. His wife took care of the finances while he wrote, getting him his cigarettes (he nearly gave himself nicotine poisoning because he was smoking six packs of cigarettes a day!) and food and paper, and borrowing money and arranging credit when needed. Mr. Marquez acknowledges that his wife, Mercedes, “performed all kinds of wondrous feats” while he wrote the novel. When Mr. Marquez finished writing the novel, he discovered that he owed the butcher approximately 5,000 pesos—which at the time, he says, was “an enormous sum.” Why did the butcher—and other people—give so much credit to the Marquez family? Mr. Marquez says, “Somehow the word had gotten around the neighborhood that I was writing a very important book, and all the shopkeepers wanted to collaborate.” The book was, indeed, very important, and in 1982, Mr. Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature. (45)
Frugality and Generosity
Famous philosopher and writer George Santayana was a generous man. He lived frugally, and he gave away some of the money he saved by living frugally. Once, he sent an old man $100 after the old man wrote Mr. Santayana and said that he ought to send the old man money because the old man, like Mr. Santayana, was a poet. Mr. Santayana also sent money to help family and friends. In the late 1930s, he learned that philosopher Bertrand Russell needed money because he could not get a job teaching. Mr. Santayana sent him money anonymously. (46)
A Passing Grade For Effort
For a while, when he was a child, Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges studied in Switzerland. He was popular, and he studied hard, but he failed a final examination in French, although he passed every other examination. The other students in the class appealed to the headmaster to consider young Jorge’s effort and progress while studying in a language that was not his own. The headmaster listened to the students and allowed Jorge to advance a grade. (47)
Preparing a Gift that Impresses
Charles MacArthur promised Robert Benchley’s two sons that he would give them his war helmet. Unfortunately, he had tossed it into the New York bay, so he bought one at an Army-Navy store. For two hours, he and Mr. Benchley struggled to put “battle” scars on it—pounding it, denting it, and puncturing it. In addition, Mr. MacArthur dripped candle wax down its sides, so he could tell Mr. Benchley’s sons that he had used it as a candle stand while he wrote letters at night. (48)
Food for Six Months
In 2008, a 47-year-old freelance journalist named Natalie Davis needed help desperately. One person who had money was financial guru Suze Orman, and Ms. Davis sent emails to every email address on <Suzeorman.com> until one of the emails reached Ms. Orman. The email said, “What happens when friends and family can’t help? Do poor moms and kids land on the streets and die?” Ms. Orman sent food to Ms. Davis and her family for six months. Ms. Davis says, “It literally kept me and my family going.” (49)
Two Good Deeds
During the 1930s, Helen, the mother of author Laurence Leamer, earned a scholarship to the University of Chicago. Because of lack of money during the Great Depression, she could not afford to take a train to Chicago; she had to take a bus. The bus driver was worried about her safety walking in a city that was unknown to her (her family was from Westport, Connecticut), so he drove the bus off his route and to the campus building where she would stay. Mr. Leamer writes, “She was too afraid to go out, and she sat her room eating a Hershey bar for dinner.” To earn room and board, Mr. Leamer’s mother got a job with Mrs. Hayes, a kind woman who was married to the grandson of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Mr. Leamer’s mother’s first job was to set the table for dinner, but after she had finished, Mrs. Hayes told her that she had made a mistake: “Helen, you didn’t set a place for yourself.” (50)
A Compliment and an E-mail
In an article for Seattle, WA’s The Stranger, book/movie critic Paul Constant revealed his secret for how to tell whether a bookstore is any good: “Find the fiction section, locate the Es, and look for Stanley Elkin. If a bookstore carries Elkin’s novels, it’s a sign of all-around quality.” He explains, noting that Mr. Elkin’s books, although excellent, don’t sell in large quantities, “A bookstore that carries Stanley Elkin has more than good taste; it has a commitment to its stock and a willingness to shelve excellent books that don’t pay for their own real estate.” One person who noticed the compliment was Mr. Elkin’s daughter, who did the very good deed of sending Mr. Constant a very nice e-mail. Mr. Constant writes (using the third person to refer to himself), “He will treasure that e-mail forever.” (51)
Educating the Students Despite Censorship
When young people’s author Richard Peck was teaching at Hunter College High School in New York, the school higher-ups in the English department banned Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Because Mr. Peck is anti-censorship, he did something clever: He told his students that To Kill a Mockingbird was banned and that they weren’t allowed by the school to read it. Sure enough, every student read To Kill a Mockingbird. (52)
Recognizing a Grand Master
One of the things that Harlan Ellison is proudest of in his life is working to have A.E. van Vogt given the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master award. According to Mr. Ellison, only petty politics kept the AFWA from giving A.E. van Vogt the award in his old age. Mr. Ellison spoke out against the AFWA and for A.E. van Vogt, and eventually A.E. van Vogt was given the Grand Master award. Mr. Ellison says, “He got it because I embarrassed them. I humiliated them. That was a real good thing. I was on the side of the angels.” (53)
The Importance of Stargirl
In 2000, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli published Stargirl, whose protagonist is a free spirit who does many good deeds. The character is memorable, and the character has inspired many Stargirl Societies whose members emulate Stargirl. The first Stargirl Society was started in Kent, Ohio, in 2004. Education specialist Kathy Frazier encouraged some of her 8th-grade students to read the novel. They loved it, and later, when they were high-school juniors (who often greeted each other with “Hey, Stargirl”), they had the idea to create a Stargirl club for middle-school students. Ms. Frazier says about the students, “They told me they wished they had read it in 6th grade, since in middle school there is such peer pressure to conform and it is so easy to lose one’s own self. Stargirl was able to keep her own creative spirit and individualism intact.” Mr. Spinelli gave the group permission to use the name “Stargirl Society,” and the high-school juniors sent invitations to middle-school students to join. The character Stargirl was inclusive, and in her spirit, Ms. Frazier says, “Anyone who wanted to come could. We didn’t leave anyone out.” The members, just like Stargirl, perform good deeds, including making cards of appreciation for people who are often underappreciated, such as cafeteria workers and janitors. Many of Stargirl’s good deeds were anonymous, and therefore many of the Stargirl Society’s good deeds are anonymous. Mr. Spinelli is very supportive of the Stargirl Societies: “I was impressed and heartwarmed at the idea that my little story provoked such a response from those kids. From my point of view, the objective of the Societies is or ought to be not to create clones of Stargirl but to encourage girls to discover, express and celebrate themselves.” Mr. Spinelli adds, “I’d love to see this thing become a more widespread movement. I personally find the Stargirl Societies so appealing and meaningful that I can imagine them becoming a legacy that I cherish more than the book itself.” (54)
A Very Special First-Year Student
Natalie McDonald was a big fan of the Harry Potter books by J.K. (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling. She was also dying of leukemia. Family friend Annie Kidder sent a letter to J.K. Rowling’s publisher, and the publisher passed the letter on to her. Unfortunately, Ms. Rowling did not get the letter right away because she had left to go on vacation. When she returned home, she read the letter and sent a very nice email to Natalie; unfortunately, Natalie had died by then. Ms. Kidder says, “Jo’s e-mail was beautiful. She didn’t patronize Natalie, or tell her everything was OK; she addressed her as a human being who was going through a hard time. She talked about her books and her characters and which ones she liked best.” Ms. Rowling did do one very nice thing for Natalie McDonald. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Hogwarts sorting hat sends a special first-year student to Gryffindor, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione live. That first-year student’s name is Natalie McDonald. (55)
Quidditch, Fantastic Beasts, and Single Parents
As the author of the best-selling Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling became wealthy. Because she is a single mother who received financial support from the government for six months, she is aware of the difficulties many single mothers face, and so she donated $725,000 to the British charity known as the National Council for One Parent Families. In addition, she wrote two paperbacks, Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and donated the proceeds from sales to the British charity Comic Relief, whose mission is to help children in developing nations. (56)
Sharing the Royalties
Writer E.B. White once received a gift from an old friend: a copy of a little book about the rules of writing by William Strunk, Mr. White’s old professor at Cornell. He was so happy to receive the gift that he wrote and published an essay about his professor. J.G. Case, a publisher of textbooks, read the essay, and he asked Mr. White’s permission to use it as an introduction to a republication of Professor Strunk’s little book. Eventually, Mr. White added a chapter about style, and the book was published. Although the book written by Professor Strunk was no longer under copyright, Mr. White insisted that Professor Strunk be listed as co-author and that his estate receive one half of the authors’ royalties. (57)
“Don’t Pay Any Attention to Them, Sir”
Samuel Johnson had a small black boy as one of his servants. Once, Mrs. Thrale and some servants insulted him, so he ran off. Dr. Johnson went looking for him, and after finding him, he embraced the boy and said, “Don’t bother about them, Sir. Don’t pay any attention to them, Sir.” (58)
A Helpful Letter
While she was in high school, Tamora Pierce wrote a story about a kids’ birthday party. She wrote the story out neatly on pencil on 3-ring binder paper and submitted it to Seventeen magazine. The magazine’s editor, Babette Rosmund, write Tamora a nice letter telling her about how to submit manuscripts (typed, and in a professional format). She also encouraged Tamora to keep on writing. Tamora appreciated such a busy woman taking the time to write her a helpful letter. Later, Tamora became a very successful writer of young adult fantasy literature. (59)
“An Honest Publisher and a Lucky Author”
Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women, which was published by Roberts Brothers, a firm that made an offer to buy the copyright to the book but also recommended that she keep the copyright because the book was likely to be popular and she could make more money if she owned the copyright. Ms. Alcott did keep the copyright, and the book made her lots and lots of money. She later wrote in her journal: “An honest publisher and a lucky author.” (60)
Milk for a Starving Man
Early in his career, author John Steinbeck was doing research, and he asked hobos in a camp for their stories, saying that he would pay them for any stories he could use. A hobo named Frank Kilkenny told Mr. Steinbeck about the time he had been lost for four days in a canebrake of very tall grasses and reeds that covered several square miles. When he finally got out of the canebrake, he made his way to a farmhouse. He lay in bed seriously ill and could not keep down any of the food the farmer and his wife fed him. Finally, to save the man’s life, the farmer’s wife, who had recently given birth, fed him with her breasts. Mr. Steinbeck said, “I can use that,” and he paid Mr. Kilkenny $2. At the end of Mr. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family comes across a starving man. The Joads don’t have any food, but Rose of Sharon had given birth to a stillborn baby, so her breasts were full of milk, and to save the man’s life, she fed him with her breasts. (61)
A Tough—But Caring—Cop
When he was young, Gary Paulsen (the future author of Hatchet) was a juvenile delinquent. One day, a tough police officer named J.D. caught him trying to steal a pair of skis from someone’s garage, so he drove him out of town, made him get out of the car, and told him to walk back to town. Gary complained that the temperature was 20 degrees below zero, but J.D. told him, “If you keep moving, you won’t die.” When they made it back to town, J.D. asked Gary if he intended to try to steal again. Gary said, “No,” then J.D. bought him a huge meal. Later, J.D. was killed by a runaway boy whom he was trying to persuade to return home. (62)
During World War II, artist Ashley Bryan drew as much as he could, despite often being in war zones. He even carried a sketchpad and other art supplies in his gas mask. He says, “There would have been a tumble if I were ever in need of that mask!” He was very good at drawing, but not so good at other things, so sometimes his very kind fellow soldiers would do some of his work for him and say, “Ashley, you draw!” He fought at Normandy, and when he needed to dig a foxhole, his collapsible shovel did not work properly. Fortunately, a fellow soldier made his own foxhole bigger so that Ashley could share it. As an artist, Mr. Bryan has been very productive, creating more than 34 books for children as well as many sea-glass panels, paintings, puppets, and toasted-cheese sandwiches. (63)
Thanking a Doctor
Spanish artist Francisco Goya had a lot of respect for his doctor, who had saved his life while Mr. Goya was severely ill. Mr. Goya’s painting Goya Attended by Doctor Arrieta depicts the good doctor helping Mr. Goya. An inscription reads, “Goya thanks his friend Arrieta for the care and attention with which he saved his life in the acute and dangerous illness suffered at the end of the year 1819 at the age of 73. He painted this in 1820.” (64)
When the pop group ’N Sync were in Florida in 1998 to record a Disney in Concert TV special for the Disney Channel, they did a lot of things such as touring the Animal Kingdom and, of course, holding press conferences, including one in the Beauty and the Beast Amphitheater with their fans. At the press conference for fans, a fan said, “Today’s my friend’s birthday. Can you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her?” The members of the band often sing a cappella, and they immediately sang “Happy Birthday,” giving the lucky birthday girl a happy memory. (65)
A Free, Impromptu Concert
Latin singer Ricky Martin knew what he wanted at a very young age. He auditioned three times to become a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The first audition he was rejected because he was too short and too young. He waited a while and auditioned a second time, making sure that he was wearing cowboy boots so he would appear to be taller. Again, he was rejected, but at age 13 he auditioned a third time and passed the audition and became a member of the band. Of course, he has performed in concerts all over the world, both as a member of Menudo and as a solo act later. One of his most memorable concerts among many memorable concerts occurred during a concert tour that took him to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he managed to sneak away from the paparazzi and make his way to a small restaurant in an out-of-the-way part of the city. There he put on a free impromptu concert, singing and dancing for the restaurant’s lucky patrons. (66)
Friendly People
It’s nice when the other acts and celebrities on a tour are friendly. Out lesbian bassist Jenn Alva of the all-female indie group Girl in a Coma remembers some friendly people on the True Colors tour. Tegan and Sara were very friendly and “really smart and they pretty much said, ‘Do whatever you want. Run around. You can hang out with us whenever you feel like it.’ And we were like, ‘Great. That is wonderful. That is nice to know.’” Another friendly person in the midst of many friendly people was Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame. Jenn says, “We didn’t even have a dressing room and he was like, ‘You girls are welcome to hang out in our dressing room if you’d like.’ He just did a little extra and he didn’t really have to. We just had a lot of fun on that tour.” (67)
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