A Lesson of Life

原文

“Everything happens for the best.” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on， one day something good will happen. And youll realize that it wouldnt 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 couldnt risk hiring inexperienced person. “Go out in the sticks and find a small station thatll 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 wasnt 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 sport announcer if he cant 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 mothers words： “if you carry on， one day something good will happen. Something wouldnt have happened if not for that previous disappointment.” I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if Id gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.

譯文

生活的一課

每當(dāng)我遇到挫折時(shí)，母親就會(huì)說(shuō)：“一切都會(huì)好的。如果你堅(jiān)持下去，總有一天會(huì)有好事發(fā)生。你會(huì)認(rèn)識(shí)到，如果沒(méi)有以前的挫折就不會(huì)有現(xiàn)在的一切?！?/p>

母親是對(duì)的，發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)是在1932年，我剛從大學(xué)畢業(yè)。我已決定試著在電臺(tái)找個(gè)事兒做，然后爭(zhēng)取做體育節(jié)目的播音員。我搭便車(chē)到了芝加哥，挨個(gè)電臺(tái)地敲門(mén)推銷(xiāo)自己——但每次都被拒絕了。

在一個(gè)播音室里，一位好心的女士告訴我，大的廣播電臺(tái)是不會(huì)冒險(xiǎn)雇用沒(méi)經(jīng)驗(yàn)的新手的?！叭ムl(xiāng)下找一家給你機(jī)會(huì)的小電臺(tái)吧，”她說(shuō)。

我搭車(chē)來(lái)到我的家鄉(xiāng)，那是伊利諾斯州的迪克森。在迪克森當(dāng)時(shí)還沒(méi)有電臺(tái)播音員這樣的工作，父親說(shuō)，蒙哥馬利·沃德開(kāi)了一家新商店，想雇請(qǐng)一個(gè)本地的運(yùn)動(dòng)員管理店里的體育部。我中學(xué)時(shí)曾在迪克森打過(guò)橄欖球，出于這個(gè)原因我去申請(qǐng)了這份工作。工作聽(tīng)起來(lái)挺適合我的，但是我沒(méi)被聘用。

我的沮喪心情一定表現(xiàn)出來(lái)了。“一切總會(huì)好的，”母親提醒我說(shuō)。爸爸給我買(mǎi)了一輛汽車(chē)找工作用。我試著到愛(ài)荷華州達(dá)文波特的woc電臺(tái)去求職。那里的電臺(tái)節(jié)目總監(jiān)是一個(gè)很棒的蘇格蘭人，名叫彼得·麥克阿瑟，他告訴我他們已經(jīng)雇到播音員了。

離開(kāi)他辦公室時(shí)，我的挫折感達(dá)到了極點(diǎn)。我大聲地說(shuō)：“一個(gè)連在電臺(tái)都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成為體育節(jié)目的播音員呢？”

等電梯時(shí)，我聽(tīng)到麥克阿瑟喊道：“你說(shuō)什么體育？你懂橄欖球嗎？”接著他讓我站到麥克風(fēng)前面，請(qǐng)我解說(shuō)一場(chǎng)想象中的比賽。

在回家的路上——以后也有很多次的，我思考著母親的那句話(huà)：“如果你堅(jiān)持下去，總要一天會(huì)有好事發(fā)生。如果沒(méi)有以前的挫折，就不會(huì)有現(xiàn)在的一切?！蔽页Ｏ?，如果當(dāng)年我得到蒙哥馬利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又會(huì)怎樣走呢？

（作者：許秋梅選送，泰州市第三高級(jí)中學(xué)）