Over the years of reading books, I’ve kept excerpts from some that amused me or interested me Here is a brief sampling of a few of the excerpts I saved. More to follow:

All My Friends by George  Burns. In the book, Burns related the story about the man and woman who were driving to a masquerade party. He was dressed like a bull and she as a cow. The car broke down and they were walking across a pasture to a farm house for help when a bull came charging. The wife said "What are we going to do?" The husband said: "Well, honey, I’m going to munch grass. You better brace yourself."

The Great Depression, America in the 1930’s by T.H. Watkins. Farm foreclosures in the rural areas were so frequent that when an Iowa county attorney tried to serve an eviction notice on a farmer in Iowa, other farmers held him hostage and later invaded the court house to stop foreclosures and evictions.

During the anti union period, a factory in Harlem employed thirty black women and a Jewish woman who was an experienced cutter. The workers joined the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. A strike was called. During later negotiations the employer agreed to terms, but wouldn’t take the cutter back. The other workers who were dead broke voted unanimously to stay on strike until they all were rehired. They won the struggle.

The Uncommon Wisdom of Ronald Reagan by Bill Adler. Reagan told the story about the letter he got from an Ohio farmer who wrote: "The Lord’s Prayer contains 57 words. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address has 266 words. The Ten Commandments are only 297 words long. The Declaration of Independence has just 300 words. So, why does an Agriculture Department order setting the price of cabbage have 26,911?"

In the annual dinner, Salute to Congress, in 1981, Reagan told them "I can define middle age. That’s when you’re faced with two temptations and you choose the one that will get you home by 9:00 PM."

In a talk to the Organization of Executive Women in Government, he told them about an accident where a woman was trying to help the victim, when a man rushed up, pushing her aside and said "I have first aide training." As he was bending down to look, she said to him "When you get to the part about calling a doctor, I’m right here."

The Life of Reilly by Rick Reilly. This is a collection of Sport’s Illustrated selection of columns by this sports humorist. He tells the story of golf pro Lee Trevino who was in a bar when a woman said to him that he was her favorite golf pro of all time and could she have an autograph. She passed him a $5 dollar bill and he wrote "Best Wishes Lee Trovino" on the border. She said she would keep it forever and was going to take it home and frame it. Later that evening, Trovino got the same bill back in change with his autograph on it.

He quoted from columns by sports writer Jim Murray who wrote for the L.A. times for thirty seven years. On baseball – "Willie May’s glove is where triples go to die." On New Jersey: "It’s principal expert is soot." On Spokane "The trouble with Spokane is there is nothing to do after 10:00 o’clock – in the morning."

Book of The World’s Worst Decisions by David Frost. He tells about the first audition of Fred Astaire who went on to be one of the most famous Hollywood dancers in movie history. The reviewer said "That guy has enormous ears and a bad chin line. He will never make it." In 1889 The San Francisco Examiner rejected famous writer Rudyard Kipling’s work saying "I’m sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language."

Henry and Clare An Intimate Portrait of the Luces by Ralph G. Martin. He quotes Dorothy Parker’s comment about Clare Luce "Clare would be nice to her superiors – if she could find any."

What’s It All About? By Michael Caine Caine tells about a conversation he had with movie actor John Wayne, who, he says. gave him two pieces of advice. "Talk low, talk slow and don’t say too much. And never wear suede shoes." When Caine asked why not wear suede shoes?, Wayne said: "One day I was in a public toilet and wearing brand new suede shoes. The guy next to me recognized me, turned and said ‘John Wayne!’ and pissed all over my shoes."