he saw them anyway. Neighborhood mothers came to him when they needed clothing and food for their children. He always sent them to the neighborhood tailor or grocer to take care of their family needs and said, “Tell them to put it on my bill!”
Before seeing patients in his clinic Bruce joined his Grandpa Joseph in his private chapel for prayer. Dr. Tully had created a sacred chapel that included beautiful Russian icons, candles, large wooden furniture and a roaring fireplace. Being an Orthodox priest the chapel and time spent in prayer helped him center, offer gratitude for the many blessings in his life and pray for guidance and support as he treated the patients each day.
Although Bruce was too young to realize it then, as he grew older he began to understand a power was there and something greater. He realized that his grandfather’s faith in God was the foundation of his life.
Saturdays spent with Grandpa Joseph were special for Bruce because he knew that when they took a break for lunch they would go to the Jewish deli across the street and have crème soda and a corned beef sandwich.
He remembered other times he spent with his grandfather as well. He listened to stories in the Turkish steam baths where they sat in the steam room with towels over their heads. He also remembered sitting in his lap in a huge, carved wooden chair while his grandfather told him stories.
Bruce came from a large family. His grandparents had twelve sons and on holidays the entire family and their families gathered together to make food baskets for families in the Eastern European ghettos. They delivered them on the doorsteps knowing they would be well received.
Dr. Tully was larger than life to Bruce. He was revered by all who knew him. He was like a shepherd who took care of his flock and had a great extended family. Dr. Tully’s extraordinary life and example formed the foundation for the person Bruce would become. Through him he learned to stand up to, face, and combat the forces of evil—evil that threatened to destroy all he believed in and stood for in the world.
This part of Bruce’s life story begins during the 1950s at the height of the Cold War between Russia and the United States. During this era many people believed that anything Russian was to be mistrusted, feared and shunned. This was especially true for Bruce.
Bruce believed no evil was greater than the Soviet Union. The seed of distrust was planted as he listened as a young boy to his grandfather’s stories. The distrust of the Soviets became stronger as he grew older. Never far from his thoughts was his Grandpa Joseph’s warning: “Always be on guard against the evils of Communism. This is what murdered and destroyed our family. Be prepared to fight the Communists at all costs.” Bruce was raised to stand up to bullies, regardless of their sizes, and to protect the weak.
When his grandfather became ill Bruce sat at his grandfather’s bedside. As Grandpa Joseph lay dying Bruce promised, “I’ll continue the fight, the fight to combat evil!”
In that moment, at a very young age, Bruce began to awaken as a visionary. His vision and first mission didn’t become clear until several years later when a series of events happened that brought his mission into focus.
THE MISSION EVOLVES
The year is 1959 and Bruce is a sixteen-year-old high school student, a respected and tough jock. Three events took place during high school that identified and clarified what Bruce thought of as his vision and his mission. Two of these events took place on the football field and the other occurred during a Civics Class field trip to the United Nations in New York City.
He wasn’t fully aware of it at the time but being an athlete and a tough jock presented many opportunities to test what he believed. He had opportunities to examine his courage and his convictions, and he could make choices to move forward or quit. These experiences laid the groundwork and advanced his mission.
He was sixteen, six foot four inches tall and he weighed one hundred eighty-five pounds. People thought he was older than he was. Sometimes this helped. He was a formidable opponent and often used his physical size to his advantage, especially on the football field or in the boxing ring while he focused on intimidating his opponents. He was mentally tough and a strong leader on and off the field.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
It was a cold, dark and wet September day in New Jersey. Bruce and the Madison High School football team were in the locker room preparing for a big game with Montclair High, archrival and reigning State champions. Wet, warm steam was floating from some of the showers throughout the locker room. It looked like a castle keep before a battle. Quarters were cramped and you could hear nervous laughter from some of the players. A lot of bumping into each other was going on and some towel snapping too.
The locker room ritual seemed to be an adolescent sacred rite of passage for these high school football players. It had a tribal feel about it where young warriors can go to bond and feel a unity, almost spiritual in nature. It was the way to get ready for battle. Each player entered the locker room feeling “happy go lucky” and they left transformed, like a beast that’s battle-ready!
Everyone was amped with adrenalin but they were quiet and solemn as they suited up, putting on their game faces. They knew it was time to focus. At that moment nothing was more important than this game!
With their game faces on, completely transformed, each player left the locker room and ran out to get on the bus. They stood in the rain and waited their turns to board. Their moods were serious. They were mentally ready and tough and they were thinking about nothing but winning the game. No one dared to laugh or crack a joke. Emotions were high and the air was thick with tension. You could cut the tension with a knife! In the background one of the players said, “Hurry up and get on.”
Another player grumbled, “Why do we have to travel in this awful weather? Why couldn’t we play here?”
The game strategy was reviewed in the locker room by the Coach and, although some grumbling was going on, you could feel an intensity and excitement radiating from each player. Winning this game was crucial as far as they were concerned. “Winning is important and winning against the reigning New Jersey State champions, Montclair High School, is even better,” Bruce thought to himself.
As his teammates talked quietly among themselves on the ride to Montclair High he stared out the window. All he could see were gray skies and rain. Focused and intense as the rain hit the windows of the bus he wondered, “Why can’t we catch a break?”
The noise and conversations of his teammates began to penetrate his thoughts. He smelled their fear. Although the players around him talked quietly among themselves, he overheard some talk about losing to the State champions. “I can’t believe it. This isn’t the attitude to take into this game!” he thought to himself. “It sounds as though we’ve already lost the game!”
Finally he couldn’t stand it so he sarcastically asked, “Hey, why are we even going? Why even bother? You sound as if we have already lost. What are you guys, a bunch of losers? We can play these guys. Don’t let Coach hear you talking like this.”
As they pulled into the wet and muddy parking lot, Bruce and his teammates checked things out looking through the windows of the bus. The first thing they saw was an intimidating stadium. “Wow, we play on an open grass field with bleachers,” he heard one of the players say. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Bruce
