At 24, he had Oswaldo the
Rabbit, his first successful cartoon character, stolen from him by Universal
Studios. At 25, MGM told him no one would ever like Mickey Mouse. At one point
in his twenties, Walt Disney was so poor that he resorted to eating dog
food.. Who woulda thunk it. Yep - he qualifies as an
all's well that ends well story.
Benjamin Franklin dropped out
of school at age ten. Franklin's parents could only afford to keep him in
school until his tenth birthday. That didn't stop the great man from pursuing
his education. He taught himself through voracious reading, and eventually went
on to invent the lightning rod and bifocals. Oh, and he became one of America's
Founding Fathers. I'd say that ended well.
Steven Spielberg was rejected
from USC, twice. You read that right. One of the most prolific
filmmakers of all time, the man who brought us "Shindler's List,"
"Jaws," "E.T." and "Jurassic Park" couldn't get
into the film school of his choice. Maybe, just sometimes, education can be a
little overrated. In the end, Spielberg would get the last laugh, when USC
awarded him an honorary degree in 1994. Two years later, he became a trustee of
the university. Yep – another ended well scenario.
Yep - clearly Russ Hodges,
Bobby Thompson and Giants fans had an all's well that ends well moment.
Talph Branca and Dodger fans? Not so much.
On the list for
sheer improbability, there is no comeback more unbelievable than the last few
seconds of the 1982 Big Game. Five laterals and one game-winning touchdown
later, The Play smashed its way into American sports history. Oh, and the Cal football team defeated Stanford
25-20. Surely Joe Starkey had a moment. Stanford fans? Yep -
not so much.
My point in
all of this? Physics tells us for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction. So to is it in life. Call it winners and losers
or something else if you like but the fact is, there are 2 sides to everything.
So keep that in mind when you next celeberate your happy ending.
That's my
quick shack-take on this week's LBC topic, Tune in next week - same Bat time,
same Bat channel for another installment.
Book learning is no good if you cannot interact and share what you learn!
ReplyDeleteIf that is your quick shack take, I wonder what a well thought out and written shack take would be like! Fantastic Shackman. I salute you.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Chuck. I learned a lot in this post. My favorite was the fact that Steven Spielberg became a trustee of the university. Love it.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are with you still as you make it through each day.
blessings ~ maxi