Act of One

Bruce A. Tully, Victoria Inc. Barna

Description

Meet Bruce Tully, a sixteen-year-old high school jock, and follow him as he feels personally challenged by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev after a visit to the United Nations. Discover how Bruce changes into a Cold War Warrior whose vision is to strengthen America's youth in the competitive fields of science and technology. See how he perseveres and gains the support of industry leaders and government officials including the President of the United States.

Sujets

• Juvenile Nonfiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456610968
• Langue: English

Extrait

ACT OF ONE
 



 


ACT OF ONE
Victoria Barna and Bruce A. Tully
 
Evolving Journeys Publishing House
Phoenix, AZ
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in review, without the written permission in writing from the authors or publisher.
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1096-8
 
Victoria Barna: [e-mail]
Bruce A. Tully: [e-mail]
Edited by Suzy Jimerson-Overholt: [e-mail]
Cover Design and Formatting by Michelle Radomski: [e-mail]
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 


DEDICATION
 

 
 
This book is dedicated to Dr. Joseph Tugligowitz, Bruce A. Tully’s grandfather who inspired Bruce and served as a role model. He was bigger than life! Not only a community leader, Dr. Tugligowitz was an aristocratic Baron but still humble as well as noble, compassionate, kind and generous. During his lifetime he was known as the man who could get the job done, and he was loved by everyone.
Grandfather, father, husband, friend, doctor and teacher were only a few of his roles. He lived a life of service. Even when he knew he was dying he regretted that he hadn’t done more.
We are grateful for the exemplary life that he led as he showed us how to live a life of service every day.
 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 

 
 
I want to thank my wife, Jeanne, and son, Joel, who inspire me.
Jeanne, your unconditional dedication, commitment, love, faith and trust in me have made my life and this project easier.
Joel, you inspire me daily. You persevere, work hard and accomplish your goals. You never waiver. I am honored and proud to be your Dad.
Robert Yowell, you’re the catalyst for writing ACT OF ONE . Without your due diligence and interest in my story as well as your subsequent article that was published in the Smithsonian Magazine , we would not have this book.
Dr. Ward A. Shoemaker, you gave me the “green light” to pursue my mission when teachers and administrators were ready to suspend me from school and destroy my work. Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have a story.
Dr. Monroe E. Spaght of Shell Oil US, you listened and opened the door to the next step.
Theodore J. Kauffeld, you served as sponsor, mentor and guide as I transitioned and transformed from a carefree, joking jock to a serious man.
 
~Bruce A. Tully
 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 

 
 
I would like to thank Bruce A. Tully for trusting me with his story and having confidence in me to tell it.
Thank you to my husband, Robert, for supporting me throughout the process of writing this story. You inspire me, and you believed in me long before I believed in myself. Your unconditional love and support were steadfast as you read the story as it developed. Thank you for your helpful insights and suggestions to provide clarity for the reader.
Thank you to my sons, Tim and Nick. You inspire me as I watch the men you have become and the values and integrity that you live by. You cheered me on and encouraged me to keep going. Your enthusiasm for this story was contagious.
 
~Victoria Barna
 


FOREWORD
 

 
 
Until I met Bruce Tully I thought I knew what it meant to be a Cold War Warrior at the dawn of the Space Age. I had interviewed the astronauts and flight controllers from NASA’s pioneering early missions as well as written about that electrifying era when the heavens became the new arena of the Cold War, the battle of ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union. When I thought of America’s Space Age Cold War Warriors, I pictured astronauts in silvery spacesuits—or maybe the pocket-protected engineers at their consoles in mission control. Then I heard Bruce tell his story, the story you now hold in your hands. It’s the story of a young man fighting his own personal Cold War.
In the late 1950s Bruce was a typical American teenager with football and girls on his mind. His greatest battles were fought on the gridiron. All that changed on a September day in 1959 when he and his high school classmates took a trip to the United Nations, where they heard Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev address the General Assembly. Hearing Khrushchev dismiss American youth as weak and lazy, Tully was so infuriated that he vowed to prove him wrong. Fired by the anti-Communist passions of his beloved Russian grandfather, the man he later called his mentor, Tully conceived of the Astronarium—a combination of “astronautics” and “planetarium”—as a kind of temple to America’s achievements in space, for the upcoming New York World’s Fair. Making the Astronarium a reality became Tully’s obsession.
To carry out his plan, Tully would have to transform himself from a varsity jock into a science nerd. In other words, he would need to discover a different kind of strength. And, in the process he would have to fight an even more personal battle with his own father, who dismissed his dream with, “Who do you think is going to listen to you? You’re just a stupid kid from New Jersey!” As you will see, the answer to that question turned out to exceed the young man’s wildest dreams.
As you accompany Bruce Tully on this extraordinary adventure, you will journey with him into America’s corridors of power as he meets some of the country’s most important men, from the president of Shell Oil to the new U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Tully’s once-in-a-lifetime encounters continue as he travels to Cape Canaveral where he meets with the “Original Seven” Mercury astronauts, who are preparing for their voyages into space. And on the morning of May 5, 1961, when a Redstone rocket launches Alan Shepard on America’s first space flight, Bruce Tully is there to witness the event, and his dreams of the Astronarium and Science Center seem to soar skyward right along with it.
Let Bruce Tully take you back to a time when America’s greatness was tested by a bold reach into the heavens. The power of this story lies in witnessing Tully’s own transformation from the teenager sitting in the visitors’ gallery of the United Nations wearing jeans and a varsity jacket into the young man in a Brooks Brothers’ suit addressing Congress. It’s a journey that will resonate with anyone, young or old, who has faced—or may now be facing—the challenges of making his or her most cherished dreams come true.
 
~Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon
 
PROLOGUE
 

 
 
Warriors are ageless and timeless and they have appeared throughout history. Some are well known and others are not. Here is a story that many of you may not believe. It took place fifty years ago and our warrior is a sixteen-year-old high school student named Bruce A. Tully.
Bruce grew up tough in an urban working class family. He grew up in what some people called the “blue collar ghettos,” one of the ethnic neighborhoods of New Jersey. Oil refineries and chemical plants surrounded the neighborhood. Smoke stacks billowed across the meadowlands.
Where he lived didn’t matter. Who people thought he was didn’t matter. At sixteen years of age he knew these opinions really didn’t matter. He had strong convictions and refused to let anything stop him from trying to accomplish the impossible. He had the heart of a warrior. He began to fulfill his mission against all odds.
Some people called him a hero. His teachers didn’t understand him or his passion to persevere and school administrators threatened him with suspension from school.
His parents had little time to offer their support. His mother had her hands full. She worked and took care of his brother and sister who were both under the age of six. She fondly thought of Bruce as a dreamer and didn’t want him to be hurt. His father traveled for his job and was frequently away from home; however, in the beginning as Bruce’s mission began to unfold he felt that Bruce was wasting his time. In the end his father came around and fully supported him as he became personally involved.
In spite of significant obstacles along the way Bruce chose to keep moving forward and remain focused on his mission. He was courageous and he persevered. Turning points were encountered, like forks in the road, moments that presented choices where he could keep going or stop, where he could remain honest or lie for his supposed advantage.
Bruce chose to keep going and maintain his integrity. What he accomplished was amazing. He is an example of how one person can bring an idea into form without having a clue as to how to make it happen, of how a mission can be made real against all odds!
Throughout his quest Bruce persevered and he gathered strength as he believed in himself and his vision. In spite of the obstacles he encountered he worked hard and found support that came from many powerful people including industry leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, national news reporters, astronauts and the President of the United States. Imagine what it took for a sixteen-year-old boy to have these powerful allies who offered their encouragement and help.
This young warrior and his experiences are examples of what is possible. One person can make a difference. He shows us that commitment and focus on a mission takes courage, vision and is transforming.
Following Bruce on his journey will show you how he came to understand his purpose and how he learned to trust what he believed to be true. He demonstrated how anyone can be a warrior. You don’t have to be a fantasy character or super hero to accomplish what appears to be impossible. Anyone can fight for what he or she believes regardless of age.
All it takes is an Act of One!
Join us now on Bruce’s amazing and miraculous journey!
HOW IT BEGAN
 

 
 
Nothing was more important to Bruce than his family. His family background and history created the foundation and direction his life would take. His family and, more specifically, his Grandpa Joseph influenced what he believed in, his values, percep