"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."
每当我遇到挫折时，母亲就会说：“一切都会好的。如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。你会认识到，如果没有以前的挫折就不会有现在的一切。”

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.
母亲是对的，发现这个时是在1932年，我刚从大学毕业。我已决定试着在之声找个事儿做，然后争取做体育节目的播音员。我搭便车到了芝加哥，挨家之声地敲门推销自己，但每次都被拒绝了。

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.
在一个播音室里，一位好心的女士告诉我，大的广播之声是不会冒险雇佣没经验的新手的。“去乡下找一家会给你机会的小之声吧，”她说。

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.
我搭车来到我的家乡，那是伊利诺斯州的迪克森。在迪克森当时还没有之声播音员这样的工作，父亲说，蒙哥马利·沃德开了一家新商店，想雇请一个本地运动员去管理店里的体育部。我中学时曾在迪克森打过橄榄球，出于这个原因我去申请了这份工作。工作听起来挺适合我的，但是我没被聘用。

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.
我的沮丧心情一定表现出来了。“一切总会好的，”母亲提醒我说。爸爸给我买了一辆汽车找工作用。我试到爱荷华州达文波特的WOC之声去求职。那里的之声节目负责人是一个很棒的苏格兰人，名叫彼得·麦克阿瑟，他告诉我他们已经雇到播音员了。

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?"
离开他办公室时，我愤怒极了。我大声地说：“一个在之声都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成为体育节目的播音员呢？”

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.
等电梯时，我听见麦克阿瑟喊道：“你说什么体育？你了解橄榄球吗？”接着他让我站到麦克风前，请我解说一场想象中的比赛。

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."
在回家的路上，以后也有很多次地，我思考着母亲的那句话：“如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。如果没有以前的挫折，就不会有现在的一切。”

I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
我常想，如果我当年得到了蒙哥马利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又会怎样走呢？