his team. He was their leader and he kept the players focused. Leaving the huddle Charlie screamed, “Let’s bring it! Let’s put it to ‘em!”
The score was close. Only three points separated the winner from the loser. For the next three minutes Madison made a serious drive but had no remaining time-outs! They got within nine yards of the goal line and the clock kept ticking. All of a sudden time ran out!
Victory was snatched away from Madison High on this cold, wet and dreary September day. The team couldn’t believe it. Victory was so close and yet so far away. You could hear the loud wail of the victory siren as Montclair ran off the field. They were grateful for the win. The State champions never expected such tough play from Madison High, a bunch of blue-collar, working class kids.
Injured and muddy, cold and wet, the Madison players began walking off the field slowly. Only one player remained. Bruce refused to leave and he seemed oblivious to everything and everyone around him. He was battered and muddy. He was down on one knee on the nine-yard line. Charlie saw him pounding his fist on the ground. “We had these guys beat! We had these guys beat!” yelled an angry Bruce.
Charlie could see Bruce’s face from the sideline and knew his anger was raging. Bruce finally got up and began to pace back and forth. He looked at the goal line with his hands on his hips and shook his head in total disbelief. “I can’t believe it. We should not have lost.”
Charlie ran back onto the field to get Bruce. He realized that Bruce was caught up in his own blow-by-blow replay of the game and that he was angry. He yelled at Bruce, “Come on, man, we got to go. We have got to go.”
Bruce yelled back, “One more minute. Just one more stinking minute and we would have beaten the State champions!”
Charlie knew Bruce better than most people. Not only was he a teammate, but he was one of Bruce’s best friends. So, he draped his arm over Bruce’s shoulder and slowly walked them off the field together—injured, muddy, wet, cold, feeling angry and disappointed. All of a sudden Bruce looked at his friend Charlie and said, “We didn’t quit, man, we didn’t quit.”
This awareness served Bruce well as his purpose became clearer a few months later. It helped define who Bruce was becoming: a leader with vision, courage and perseverance, someone who wouldn’t quit even when victory seemed impossible or when he wasn’t supported by the people he trusted.
A PERSONAL CHALLENGE IS DECLARED
With the Montclair High School game behind him Bruce experienced another important turning point in his life. It occurred during a high school Civics Class field trip to the United Nations in New York City. The mood was festive during the bus ride into the City. Spirits were high. Many of the kids had never been into New York City and thought this trip was a big deal. All around Bruce he could hear comments like, “New York’s cool! Look at that! Where’s the Statue of Liberty and Central Park?”
He wasn’t as awed by the trip as his friends and fellow classmates were. He had been into the City a few times with his parents and enjoyed the museums. Right at that time he felt isolated and he was totally in his head. His mind was racing with so many thoughts going on all at once he wouldn’t have been surprised to see a hamster racing around on its wheel. All of the comments and chatter were just white noise to him.
As they entered the City he saw big, overpowering canyons of concrete and steel. The buildings were so tall that you had to look straight up to see the sky. Everyone moved incredibly fast, hustling and bustling from one place to the next. It was a cacophony of humanity, all sizes, shapes, colors and ethnicities. Street vendors sold pretzels and chestnuts and loudly hawked their goods. Smoke exhaust from all of the buses on the street hung in the air. All of his senses were engaged and the whole scene made a huge emotional impact. “This is a city that never sleeps,” he thought to himself.
As the bus pulled up to the curb everyone was excited about disembarking. They were anxious to get going on this exciting new adventure. There it was, right in front of them, their destination: the United Nations! Everyone immediately headed toward the entrance and as they passed through the beautiful plaza they noticed the well-kept grounds. Bruce heard comments like, “I can’t believe we’re going into the United Nations building. It’s so impressive with all of the different flags flying high from each country.”
The day was beautiful and clear, a great day to be out of class and in New York City. While his friends were having fun, teasing and joking with one another, Bruce’s mood was serious and somber. His thoughts continued to race and he thought, “I know that in a matter of hours there’s a possibility that I’m going to see face to face—well, not exactly face to face, more like from the UN visitors’ gallery, the highest ranking Communist: Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. It had been rumored that he would be addressing the United Nations General Assembly today.”
In spite of the beautiful day and the high energy and excitement of his friends, Bruce felt as though he would be going to an execution. He had never met or seen a Russian Communist before. His friends and classmates were oblivious and acted as if they were on some kind of picnic! “What’s wrong with this picture? Don’t these guys get what’s going on?” he wondered.
He remembered his grandfather’s warnings about the evils of Communism. He was very aware that the Soviets had achieved several major milestones in technology. He had done some research before the field trip and knew that their significant achievements included the launch of Sputnik One three years earlier, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth, the launch of the space dog, Laika, in November of 1957 followed by other accomplishments in science and technology.
Khrushchev boasted that the Soviets would put the first man into space. Bruce was alarmed and thought, “Every American should understand this threat!”
He felt that national patriotism was at an all-time low and Khrushchev took every opportunity to ridicule the United States while he praised the greatness of Communism. He believed Khrushchev would take advantage of his time before the General Assembly to further his own plans and that he would also ridicule the United States.
Bruce was so keyed up anticipating what was going to happen that he was a little frightened. He thought, “I can’t believe I might actually get a chance to see Khrushchev in person. He’s a monster as far as I’m concerned. Why will this man be allowed to ridicule and insult my country on our own soil?”
Anxious and tense he felt as though he had become a tightly wound clock ready to burst! He braced himself as he anticipated a confrontation. He thought to himself, “I feel as if I’m about to enter the boxing ring facing one of the toughest opponents of my life. I wonder who’s going to throw the first punch.”
Bruce took this personally and thought, “This is the man that represents all things evil as far as I’m concerned. I’ve heard this all of my life.”
He anxiously but quietly took his seat in the visitors’ gallery. As he turned to the front of the room Bruce was surprised and thought to himself, “I can’t believe it! There he is, the Soviet Premier. He’s no more than one hundred feet in front of me.”
Bruce froze and could only stare at the man. As he watched him Khrushchev did the unthinkable. He took his shoe off and banged it on the podium as he continued to insult the United States.
He couldn’t believe the man’s arrogance. He listened to the Premier’s translation carefully through the headphones that were provided to the visitors. “America’s youth are weak and
