Showing results by narrator "Bruce Davis" in All Categories

The most powerful memories of my life were the teenage years that I spent with my brother Bruce. He was my mother's favorite son, born with multiple sclerosis (MS). I used to take him swimming almost everyday, being weightless in the water made him feel powerful and normal. He fought his disease and other than tiring easily he was no different than any other teen. Since we were both excellent swimmers and always at the pool, we were offered a chance to fill in as lifeguards at the beach. It was a great summer with a large crowd and plenty of sunshine.

This is the uplifting story of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of the modern nursing profession, from her earliest days as the daughter of English squire to her role as Angel of the Crimea, and her later life of service. With the training she received at hospitals on the Continent, she was fully prepared to care for the wounded in the Crimean War (between Russia and an alliance of Great Britain, France, and Turkey).

The satirical novel, Babbitt (1922), by Sinclair Lewis, is a critique of the social pressure toward conformity and what Lewis regarded as the emptiness of middle-class life. The setting is the city of Zenith in the Midwest. The book’s first seven chapters describe a day in the life of a realtor, George F. Babbitt, starting with his morning routine.

This audiobook of true-life tales was first published in 1883. The accounts are related by a Ranger who experienced most of the history first-hand. It deals with, among others, the War of Independence from Mexico including the Alamo, and scouting expeditions into the Wichita Mountains.

In May 1874, Dan W. Roberts was given his commission as second lieutenant of Company "D" of the Ranger Battalion; he would remain with them for the next eight years. During his time with the Texas Rangers, Roberts was active in protecting settlers, quelling unrest, arresting stage coach robbers, and assisting the army in building roads. His account of his time with the Rangers was published in 1914.

The life story of Billy Dixon, a buffalo hunter and scout from the Texas Panhandle who was active as far as Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, offers a genuine depiction of life on the old western frontier. Billy helped found the town of Adobe Walls, ended a siege during the Second Battle of Adobe Walls with a long-distance shot, and received the US Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Buffalo Wallow Fight. Billy later served as postmaster at Adobe Walls, sheriff of Hutchinson County, Texas, and state land commissioner.

In a time where patriotism can sometimes be perceived as a rather negative trait, it can be refreshing to listen to the accounts of those who were filled with boundless love for their country. Samuel Williams’ 1774 discourse reads as an ode to America. He draws continuous parallels between his native country and Jerusalem, both whom he believed to possess the qualities to reach a stage of ultimate perfection.

Sonny's wife Paulina tells him she wants another child. He agrees to expand the family. Tony's wife Roberta hears the good news and she also wants a child. She confides in Sonny that Tony is too stubborn to find out why he can't get her pregnant. She had been examined and the problem is not with her. Both mobsters are trying to deal with this delicate situation when all of a sudden someone slits the throat of Robert Rizzo, crime boss of the Damato family, and his bodyguard Jesse.

Being a young Mafia boss was an enormous boost to a man's ego. Some men couldn't take the pressure and responsibilities. They were simply eliminated. Tony and I had our challenges. A man is born weak and has to be taught to be strong. He needs to ignore things that would make a normal man emotional. That was the Mafia thinking. The Mafia way. We were exposed to the dirtiest, unethical situations. Laws and conscience didn't steer our lives. The problem was that people got hurt. The people that counted. The very people that meant the most got trampled.