My MOTHER was the kindest person I've ever known. Faith, in God and in prayer, was an important part of her life. And, thanks to her it became part of mine. I remember Mother telling my brother and me, at a time we faced great disappointment, that everything happens for the best. That if we would carry on, one day something good would happen. And we would realize it wouldn't have happen if it had not been for that previous disappointment. Mother was right, as I discovered shortly after graduating from Eureka College in 1932. Having decided to try for a job in radio and then work my way up to being a sports announcer, I hitchhiked to Chicago. I knocked on the door of every radio station--- and was turned down by every single station. But in one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't afford to hire an inexperienced person. She advised me to go out in the "sticks," where I'd find a small station that would give me a chance. This was when the government was discouraging people from leaving home to look for work, because there were no jobs. I hitchhiked the 90 miles from Chicago to my home in Dixon, Ill. My father told me Montgomery Ward had opened a store in Dixon and wanted someone known in the town for his athletic experience to manage its sporting goods department. Since that's where I'd played high-school football, I applied. But I wasn't hired. I guess my disappointment showed, because my father offered me the family car to drive 75 miles to the Tri Cities. After being turned down at the radio station in Rock Island, Ill., I crossed the Mississippi and knocked on the door of WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, heard my pitch. But, then he told me that they had interviewed 90 candidates and had already hired an announcer. As I left his office, my frustrations caused me to ask myself 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 someone calling "Wait up." It was Peter MacArthur. Thank Heaven the elevator had not arrived! Peter asked, "What was that you said about sports?" I told him of my desire to be a sports announcer. He asked me if I knew anything about football. I told him I'd played the game for eight years. Peter took me into a studio and stood me before a microphone. Then he asked me to broadcast an imaginary football game, while he listened in another room. The game I announced was from memory. In the previous autumn at Eureka, we had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. So I did a buildup to that play. After 15 minutes, Peter rushed in and 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; "When faced with disappointment, carry on and one day something good will happen." A footnote: I've often wondered what my life might have been like if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward...