The Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 Anecdotes

Some samples: 1) During a long-distance telephone call, choreographer Agnes de Mille told her soldier husband, Walter Prude, that she was pregnant: “We’re having a baby!” He managed to say, “Good God, are you sure!” before they were disconnected—telephone service during World War II was not as good as it is today. Twenty-five minutes later, they were reconnected, and Agnes asked, “Are you all right? Have you something to drink?” Walter replied, “A bottle of Scotch. I’m well along in it.” 2) Civilians suffer during war, including the American Civil War. A hungry Virginian woman appeared at the Union camp of General Newton M. Curtis, asking for help. However, she was required to take an oath of allegiance to the Union cause before receiving food or other help. This she declined to do because both her husband and her son were fighting for the Confederate cause. Rather than letting her depart without help, General Curtis gave her money from his own pocket so she could buy food and other necessities. 3) Nancy Stanford sat in a rocking chair to read a story to a group of first graders who sat at her feet. As she read the story, she felt a small hand rub her ankle, then her calf. Rather than disturb story time, she decided to continue reading the story to its end, then reprimand the child rubbing her leg. At the end of the story, she looked down, and a little boy told her, “Your leg feels just like my mother’s.” She did not reprimand the child.