The Most Interesting People Who Live Life

This book contains 250 anecdotes, including these:1) Richard Roeper once ate dinner with actor Nicolas Cage at Joe's on Grand and Rush in Chicago, after which they fought over the bill only to discover that the meal was on the house. Mr. Roeper then said that he would get the tip, and Mr. Cage agreed as long as he could pay for the next meal they ate together. Unfortunately, Mr. Roeper discovered that he had forgotten his wallet. He tried to text-message friends to come to Joe's and lend him money, but no one was close enough to help. He was also too embarrassed to tell Mr. Cage, who was busy talking to some other people, that he had left his wallet at home. Mr. Roeper left the restaurant without leaving a tip, and he rushed home to get money for the tip. However, before he could return to tip the waitress, the restaurant had closed. This could be the end of the story, but the next morning, when Joe's opened, Mr. Roeper's personal assistant was outside with an envelope containing the tip for the waitress. 2) While serving a small-town parish in Uvalde, Texas, Msgr. Vincent Fecher was unable to sleep one night because in three months, $21,000 was due to the bank as a semi-annual payment on a building loan. The parish's building fund account had only $5,000, and with all the current expenses, it seemed unlikely that the parish could come up with the semi-annual payment. Father Vincent tossed and turned for a while, then said, "Darn it, Lord! It's Your parish! You worry about it! I'm going to get some sleep, or I'll be in terrible shape tomorrow and all day long. No sense both of us losing sleep over this. I need the rest and You don't. So, 'Buona Notte'!" This may seem funny, but Father Vincent did get some much-needed sleep, and when the date for the semi-annual payment arrived, the building fund account held $25,675. 3) Sam Rayburn, the late Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was noted for keeping his word. Hundreds of people saw him each day and asked for favors, and Mr. Rayburn always gave an answer to their requests - yes, no, or maybe. However, although he spoke to so many people a day, he never made a note of his promises - and he never forgot a promise. When he was asked how he was able to do this, Mr. Rayburn replied, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember."