"Everything happens for the best，" my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on， one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
Mother was right， as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio， then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station - and got turned down every time.
In one studio， a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance，" she said.
I thumbed home to Dixon， Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon， my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football， I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.
My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best，" Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport， Iowa. The program director， a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur， told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office， my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud， "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station？"
I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling， "What was that you said about sports？ Do you know anything about football？" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
On my way home， as I have many times since， I thought of my mother's words： "If you carry on， one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
发表于 2016-7-4 12:14:55