Bathroom Readers Institute - Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Tales to Inspire

By the

Bathroom Readers

Institute

Bathroom Readers Press

Ashland, Oregon

UNCLE JOHNS TALES TO INSPIRE

Copyright 2006 by Portable Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Portable Press/The Bathroom Readers Institute

An imprint of Printers Row Publishing Group

10350 Barnes Canyon Road, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121

www.bathroomreader.com

e-mail:

Printers Row Publishing Group is a division of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

The Portable Press, Bathroom Readers Institute, and Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader names and logos are registered trademarks of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

All correspondence concerning the content of this book should be addressed to Portable Press/The Bathroom Readers Institute, Editorial Department, at the above address.

Cover design by Michael Brunsfeld, San Rafael, CA ()

Cover photos by Jay Newman (www.NewmanImages.com)

eISBN: 978-1-60710-915-0

THANK YOU!

The Bathroom Readers Institute sincerely thanks the people whose advice and assistance made this book possible.

Gordon Javna

Thom Little

Jay Newman

Brian Boone

Amy Miller

Julia Papps

John Dollison

Jahnna Beecham

Malcolm Hillgartner

Angela Kern

Jef Fretwell

Michael Brunsfeld

Sharilyn Hovind

Jolly Jeff Cheek

John Gaffey

Sydney Stanley

Allen Orso

JoAnn Padgett

Laurel, Mana, Dylan, and Chandra

Nancy Toeppler

Rad Welles

Connie Vazquez

Matthew Furber

Kristine Hemp

Raincoast Books

Dan Schmitz

Shobha Grace

Jennifer Thornton

(Mr.) Mustard Press

Steven Style Group

Weifeng Ben Liang

Keziah Veres

Shannon Kehle

Michelle Sedgwick

Jennifer P. & Melinda A.

Banta Book Group

Scarab Media

Marley J. Pratt (our #1 inspiration)

Porter the Wonder Dog

Thomas Crapper

CONTENTS

Because the BRI understands your reading needs, weve divided the contents by length as well as subject.

Shorta quick read

Medium2 pages

Long3 pages or more

INTRODUCTION

W ELCOME to this very special edition of Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader.

If youre new to our series, then allow us to introduce ourselves. The Bathroom Readers Institute is a group of dedicated trivia nuts living in the small mountain town of Ashland, Oregon. Over the two decades that weve been bringing you Bathroom Readers, weve uncovered many uplifting stories. That gave us the idea of creating an entire book that celebrates incredible people and achievements.

Just look around you; there are so many. For example

Everyday folks who do extraordinary things. such as the mysterious driver who always pays the toll for the five cars behind her, the man who sold his house and then used the money to buy a community hall for the Girl Scouts, and the city bus driver who conducts sing-alongs with his passengers.

Disabled people who refuse to be limited by their physical limitations, like the blind man who helped millions learn how to read and write, the high school wrestler who figured out how to win even though he has no arms, and the scientist who cant move or talk, but changed the way we view the universe.

Wealthy people who give back, such as the hockey star who donated his entire salary to help troubled teens, the doctor in India who invented a simple toilet that saved millions of lives, and the robber baron who gave away his entire fortune to promote literacy.

Kids who notice a problem and then get to work trying to fix it. Theres the group of high school students who dress up as superheroes and help out their neighbors, the boy who rescued hundreds of old computers from the landfill and placed them into schools, and the little girl whose big idea led to the planting of a million trees.

This book is more than just amazing people. We show you natural wonders, like the tortoise who adopted the hippo, our intricate relationship to the universe, and the lessons that ants can teach us. Youll find architectural achievements, like the village made out of bottles and the castle that took one man 70 years to build (all by himself). And then there are fables, proverbs, jokes, and words of wisdom from the likes of the Buddha, Einstein, Helen Keller, and P-Funk.

While were talking about inspirational people, heres a great big THANK YOU to the writers and researchers at the Bathroom Readers Institute who poured their hearts into making this book: Jay, Brian, Thom, John, Amy, Jahnna, Malcolm, Angie, Jef F., and Jolly Jeff Cheek.

And finallythank you. We know we say this in every book, but we cant help it. The love and enthusiasm youve shown for this quirky book series has inspired us to keep doing the very best we can to keep you entertained. Heres to many more years of bathroom reading bliss.

So, until next time,

Go with the Flow!

Uncle John, the BRI staff, and Porter the Wonder Dog

Everybody is inspired by someone. Who inspires you?

S TEVE MARTIN. As a boy in the 1950s, Martin loved watching The Red Skelton Show on TV. Amazed by Skeltons power to make people laugh, he wanted that power, too. Howd he get it? By learning every Skelton skit word for word and then performing them for his schoolmates.

CORETTA SCOTT KING. King was inspired by Eleanor Roosevelts campaign for global human rights. The First Lady once said, No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Those words stayed with King her whole life, and reminded her to never be afraid to stand up for what she believed.

HENRY FORD completed his first self-propelled vehicle, the gas-engine powered Quadricycle, in 1896. That same year he met his boyhood hero, Thomas Edison, and told him about the Quad. Edison, who was working on an electric vehicle, banged his fist on the table and said, Young man, you have it! Your car is self contained and carries its own power plant. Years later Ford said, That bang on the table was worth worlds to me.

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN. One of Vaughans first influences was blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Yet while Vaughan went on to fame in the 1980s, Guy fell on hard times and nearly quit the business. Until one day when Guy heard Vaughans playing. He was so amazed that he decided to pick up his own guitar againunaware that the man who inspired him to return to music was the same man that he inspired to start playing in the first place.

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.Jane Goodall

A LL WELL AND GOOD

Ryan Hreljac of Kemptville, Ontario, says hes just a normal kid, but those who know him consider him to be remarkable. In 1998, when Ryan was six years old, he learned from his first-grade teacher that hundreds of thousands of African children die every year from drinking contaminated water. His teacher further explained that in Africa a single penny would buy a pencil, 25 cents would cover the cost of 175 vitamins, 60 cents would supply two months worth of medicine, and $70 would pay for a well.

Determined to help, Ryan worked for four months doing household chores to earn the money to buy a well, but found that $70 would only pay for a small hand pump. Hed have to raise $2,000 to buy a real well. That didnt stop Ryan; he continued to raise moneyfrom neighbors, other children, and foundations. By the time he was seven, not only had Ryan raised the $2,000 for a hand-dug well, hed promised the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief that he would raise another $25,000 to buy the drilling equipment needed to build more wells in Africa. And he kept his promise.