David Bruce Books: David Bruce: The Kindest People: Be Excellent to Each Other: Volume 3 (Free PDF)

2. Finnish Babies Sleep in Cardboard Boxes

Ever since 1938, the government of Finland has given expectant mothers a box that contains baby clothes, baby bedding, a sleeping bag, a small mattress, cloth diapers, outdoor gear, baby-bathing products, and other items that a baby needs. When the small mattress is placed at the bottom of the box, the box becomes baby’s first bed. The four walls of the box keep the baby from falling out of the box. Expectant mothers can choose between taking the box or a grant of money — in June 2013, the amount of money expectant mothers could get was 140 euros. However, almost all expectant mothers — 95 percent — take the box because it and its contents are worth much more than 140 euros. At first, only expectant mothers with low incomes could get the box, but beginning in 1949, it was given to all expectant mothers. Finland has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world — in part, because of the box. Heidi Liesivesi, who works at Kela — the Social Insurance Institution of Finland — said, “Not only was it offered to all mothers-to-be, but new legislation meant in order to get the grant, or maternity box, they had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy.” Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old from Helsinki, remembers getting a box: “It was lovely and exciting to get it and somehow the first promise to the baby. My mum, friends, and relatives were all eager to see what kind of things were inside and what colours they’d chosen for that year.” The colours are always gender-neutral so that the clothing can be passed down from a boy to a girl or from a girl to a boy. Titta Vayrynen, a 35-year-old mother who has two young boys, said, “It’s easy to know what year babies were born in, because the clothing in the box changes a little every year. It’s nice to compare and think, ‘Ah, that kid was born in the same year as mine.’” She added, “There was a recent report saying that Finnish mums are the happiest in the world, and the box was one thing that came to my mind. We are very well taken care of, even now when some public services have been cut down a little.” The maternity box encourages good parenting. Panu Pulma, professor in Finnish and Nordic History at the University of Helsinki, said, “Babies used to sleep in the same bed as their parents, and it was recommended that they stop. Including the box as a bed meant people started to let their babies sleep separately from them.” To promote breastfeeding, the box does not contain baby bottles in order. To promote future literacy, it contains a picture book. An article by Helena Lee for the BBC News Magazine listed the contents of the box for June 2013: “Mattress, mattress cover, undersheet, duvet cover, blanket, sleeping bag/quilt. Box itself doubles as a crib. Snowsuit, hat, insulated mittens and booties. Light hooded suit and knitted overalls. Socks and mittens, knitted hat and balaclava. Bodysuits, romper suits and leggings in unisex colours and patterns. Hooded bath towel, nail scissors, hairbrush, toothbrush, bath thermometer, nappy cream, wash cloth. Cloth nappy set and muslin squares. Picture book and teething toy. Bra pads, condoms.”[1]

3. “An Honest Man is Found in Wilkes-Barre!”

On 2 July 2013, entertainer Steve Martin performed bluegrass music at the F.M. Kirby Center for Performing Arts in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Earlier that day, unfortunately, he lost his wallet while bicycling in Wilkes-Barre. Fortunately, a man found it and turned it in at the Kirby Center. Mr. Martin, who did not reveal the man’s name, Tweeted, “An honest man is found in Wilkes-Barre! Thank you, sir! RT ‪@CBSPittsburgh: Stranger comes to the aid of comedian and returns his wallet!” The wallet contained credit cards and a driver’s license. Mr. Martin thanked the Good Samaritan in person.

4. Comics Helping Comics

Often, comediennes help other comediennes (including aspiring comediennes). The comedienne known as Simply Marvelous worked at a customer-service place in California. At work, she ran across contact information for LaWanda Page, a comedienne and comic actress who is remembered for playing Aunt Esther in the TV sitcom Sanford and Son, which starred Redd Foxx. Although Simply Marvelous was not supposed to do such things, she telephoned Ms. Page and asked her to listen to a comedy tape that Simply Marvelous had made. Simply Marvelous remembers, “She said, ‘Yeah,’ and invited me over to her house, and I was just overwhelmed by just hearing her and talking to her.” Thea Vidale remembers other good deeds: “There was a time when, black comics especially, we had our own underground railroad. That’s the only way I can say it. If comics got stranded in cities where other black comics were or cool white boys were, we would hook them up with the numbers and we would say, ‘Look, if you here, you can go and stay with these people.’ Even my house was one of the houses you could stay at.”

5. Entertainers Supporting Entertainers

Casey Wilson was a featured player on Saturday Night Live during the 2008-2009 season, and she found the women there to be very supportive. Casey played the redhead in a spoof for the TV series Mad Men, and at one point in the sketch she had to drop off some papers, but she didn’t have a line to say. Amy Poehler, whom Casey likens to a protective mama bear, said to the writers, “Let’s give Casey a funny line when she comes in.” Casey says that Amy did not have to do that kind of thing, but she did it anyway. Male comedian Denis Leary was very supportive of the very young Janeane Garofalo. Denis hosted Thursday nights at the comedy club Play It Again Sam’s, and he controlled which comedians were able to perform on Thursday. Each Thursday, he allowed Janeane, who was a new performer, to do stand-up comedy. Comedy manager Barry Katz watched Janeane perform, and in his opinion her material was smart, but the audiences just were not laughing. He said to Denis, “You know she’s bombing every week. Don’t you think we should try somebody else in the show and take her out for a few weeks?” Barry remembers, “It was the only time he ever got mad at me in his entire life. He stuck his finger in my face and said, ‘F**k you, Barry. She’s funny. She will work my show every f**king week, and if you don’t like it, I’m out of here.” These days, of course, Janeane is a top comedian. Here’s another person standing up for someone else: Whoopi Goldberg and Sam Elliott — he of the fabulous mustache and voice — worked together in the 1987 movie Fatal Beauty. She would have liked for her character to have a love interest and to have kissed Sam Elliott, but one VIP basically told her, “You have no f**kability factor. No one wants to f**k you.” Sam told the VIP, “Number one, that’s the rudest thing I’ve ever heard anybody ever say to somebody else, and number two, what are you talking about?” Then he said to the director, “And who wants to f**k you?”

Thursday, April 7, 2022

David Bruce: The Kindest People: Be Excellent to Each Other: Volume 3 (Free PDF)

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David Bruce: The Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 Anecdotes (FREE PDF)