David Bruce Books

THE KINDEST PEOPLE WHO DO GOOD DEEDS (Free PDFs)

Tipping the Balance—Either Way

According to the Talmud, all of us ought to consider the world as being equally divided into good and evil. That way, we will regard our own actions as important. If we act evilly, we will tip the world onto the side of evil and all Humankind will suffer, but if we perform good deeds, we will tip the world onto the side of good, and all Humankind will benefit.

The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1 (Free PDF)

“How Come It Doesn’t Cost Anything?”

Some people showed kindness to comedian Eddie Cantor when he was growing up. As a kid, he went to Surprise Lake Camp, a summer camp for slum kids, where one night he suddenly wondered, “How come we’re here? How come it doesn’t cost anything?” Another kid had the answer: “Oh, because somebody’s interested in us kids.” Later Mr. Cantor returned the kindness by raising many millions of dollars for charities, including a camp for underprivileged children such as he had been.

The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2 (Free PDF)

A Widely Loved Comedian

Comedian Jimmy Durante was widely loved because he was the kind of person who deserved to be widely loved. When Steve Allen was an unknown comedian, he had a chance to be photographed with the famous Jimmy Durante for some newspapers—good exposure for Mr. Allen. Unfortunately, a group of teenaged fans moved between Mr. Allen and Jimmy, separating them. Jimmy saw what was happening, yelled “Wait a minute,” and then moved to Mr. Allen and grabbed him by the arm so that photographs of him with Jimmy would appear in the newspapers. And when Jimmy’s friend and fellow comedian Eddie Cantor had a heart attack, Jimmy went to the hospital every day even though he knew that Mr. Cantor was not allowed visitors. He simply sat quietly for a while in a chair outside Mr. Cantor’s hospital room.

The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 3 (Free PDF)

“Well-Played, Anonymous Ticket-Finder”

On Saturday, April 12, 2008, Jon Sorak of Park Forest and his significant other, Melinda, were looking forward to seeing Jerry Seinfeld at the Chicago Theater in, of course, Chicago. They ate dinner at Harry Caray’s, then took a few photographs on State Street, and then found out that their tickets were missing. Mr. Sorak realized that the tickets had probably fallen out of his pocket when he had taken his camera out, so they searched for the tickets in that area but did not find them. They then talked to a security officer at the Chicago Theater, who directed them to the Will Call office, and their tickets were handed to them. Mr. Sorak says, “In a city where scalping is the norm, someone was honest and kind-hearted enough to [turn in the tickets]. Our thanks and prayers to this Good Samaritan.” Movie critic Richard Roeper, who wrote about this good deed in his blog, adds, “Well-played, anonymous ticket-finder.”

The Kindest People Who Do Goods: Volume 4 (Free PDF)

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.”

The Kindest People Who Do Deeds: Volume 5 (Free PDF)

“Bill, are You OK? How’s Everything at Home?”

Billy Crystal’s father died when Billy was 15 years old, and Billy took it hard. He had a hard time functioning because he felt like he was carrying a boulder all the time. He did try out for the varsity basketball team, but during tryouts he played as if he were carrying a boulder. Obviously, if you’re carrying a boulder and trying to play basketball at the same time, the basketball is not going to do what you want it to do. The coach, Mr. Farry, called Billy to his office and asked him, “Bill, are you OK? How’s everything at home?” Billy told him all his troubles, especially including his father’s death and the effect it was having on his mother. Coach Farry put him on the team. As an adult, Mr. Crystal wrote in his autobiography, 700 Sundays, “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Thee Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 6 (PDF)

100 Pennies

Al Shean was a popular comedian during the very early part of the 20th century. He endeared himself to children whenever he visited his young nephews who later became the famous Marx Brothers. Not only did he give his young nephews money, but also he would toss 100 pennies (back when a penny was actually valuable) into the street and let the neighborhood children scramble for the money.

Thursday, March 31, 2022

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