“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 were 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 hunt job．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 you said about sports？Do you know anything about football?” Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me broadcast an imaginary game.The preceding autumn,my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run．I did a 15-minute build-up to that play，and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s 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 not gotten the job at Montgomery Ward．

 “一切都会好的，”每当我遇到挫折，妈妈总是说，“如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生的。并且，你会意识到，如果没有以前的失望，好事是不会发生的。”

母亲是对的，因为我发现大学在1932年毕业后，决定试着在电台找份体育报道的工作。我搭便车来到芝加哥，试图敲开每一个电台的门，但都遭到了拒绝。在一家广播站，一位好心的女士告诉我，大的广播电台是不会冒险雇用没有经验的人的。“走出去到乡下找一个小电台，也许你会获得一个机会，”然后，我又搭车回到家乡，去了伊利诺伊州的迪克森。

虽然这没有电台广播员工作，父亲说，Montgomery Ward刚开了一家商店，想雇用一个本地运动员来管理的体育部。因为我高中曾在那里打橄榄球，我申请了这份工作。尽管这份工作对我来说听起来恰到好处，但我并没有被录取。看到我失望之情难以掩饰，妈妈提醒我说“一切都会好的。”为了找工作，爸爸把车给了我用。我去了Iowa州的WOC电台，项目总监，彼得麦克阿瑟先生，一个很棒的苏格兰人告诉我说他们已经雇到了播音员。

当我离开他的办公室时，我沮丧至极，忍不住大声喊道，“如果一个人不能在一个广播电台找到一份工作，又怎么能成为一个体育解说员呢？”就在我等电梯得时候，听见麦克阿瑟说，“你说的是什么体育？你了解足球吗？”接着他让我站到麦克风前，请我广播一个虚拟的比赛。在前一个秋天，我所在的球队在最后20秒内运行65码赢得了比赛。我做了一个15分钟的关于那场比赛的广播，彼得告诉我，我可以广播周六即将进行的比赛。回家的路上，就像以前很多次发生的那样，我又想起了我母亲的话：“如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。但是，如果没有以前的失望，好事就不会发生。”

我常常想如果没有在Montgomery Ward的那份工作，我的人生又会怎样。