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Dalton
Roberts |
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Sometimes calamities become opportunities. This was true for me in 1977 and 1978. To recite some old political history for those who may not have lived here during that time period, I was fired as county manager and then elected county executive (now county mayor) in 1978. Being fired forever gave me empathy with anyone who is fired and made me try everything possible before I even considered firing an employee. I saw what it was like to have a truckload of manure thrown on your 29 year unblemished work record. After I was elected, I wrote in my journal, “The part of me that has found its place in the sun grew out of the desert. I fought for every inch of the ground I gained with nothing but dry sand to nourish my soul. What kept me going was feeling wings growing.” Later I saw a drawing of an eagle growing out of arid desert sand and I clipped it out to place in my journal next to what I had written. Every year when I come to those two items in my journal, I pause a long while and feel waves of gratitude sweep over me for that year in the desert. Seeing that eagle sprouting up in the desert reminded me of a story in either the Times or Free Press about Glen Webster. Glen has long been one of my heroes. He has no legs and the picture used with the story made him look like he was also growing out of the ground. It was such a striking image that it riveted me the day I turned to that page in my paper. The first time I met Glen he was gas attendant at the county service station. He came scooting out on a little homemade board with four small wheels. It looked like one of those things mechanics use to get under cars. As he gassed up my car, I got acquainted with him. After that I looked forward to gassing up and the opportunity it provided to talk with my new friend. I saw there was nothing wrong with his mind and encouraged him to go to college. He did and became a teacher. When I spoke on an ecology program at Whitwell United Methodist Church one Sunday, he took that Sunday off from his Baptist church responsibilities and came to hear me with his wife and son. What a thrill to see this man who grew out of the desert in a way that made my achievements look small. When life leaves you stranded out in the desert panting for air and praying for rain, you can choose to give up. Don’t do it. That is the one and only way you can lose. If you don’t give up you will at least add to your self-respect. No experience is a loss when you gain more self-respect from it. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true and it shall follow as night follows day that no man can ever make you feel like a failure.” When I was broke and running for county executive, a friend asked, “What are you going to do if you lose? The question was like a cold-water splash. I hadn’t even considered that possibility. I was going at a pace that allowed no time for such a thought. In addition to giving you a powerful shot of self-respect, coming through a desert experience gives you a calm, deep knowledge of your inner toughness. You will be like a thrice-wounded veteran who survived a dozen major battles. When he came home he was threatened by a man who had more liquor in his belly than brains in his head. The veteran said, “You can’t scare a man who just walked through hell bare-footed.” Dig your heels into the sand and hang on. It may be your day to grow some wings.
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