A good mother is better than a good teacher

Chapter 27 Perseverance and hard work combine action and thinking (2)
fly alone into the blue sky
On July 1976, 7, at Medford Airport in Oregon, USA, Pan Patterson, who had been flying for 28 years, had never encountered such a strange thing. In front of him was a young man in a wheelchair named Mike Henry. Desen, a quadriplegic, wants to learn to fly.Patterson glanced at Henderson's limbs. His thighs were weak and he couldn't use the rudder pedals at all. How could he control a one-ton aircraft?What bothered the flight instructor the most was Henderson's hands. Although his fingers were still there, he could hardly move them.Patterson thinks it's impossible to fly.But what prompted him not to speak directly?Perhaps it was the apparent determination of the young man in front of him, and the urgency on his face.In any case, something struck a chord in the outspoken and robust flight instructor.He said: "Maybe I can teach you, but according to the Federal Flight Regulations, you must have the ability to get on and off the plane by yourself." After that, he turned to a single-engine trainer not far away and said, "I'm going to prepare a cup of coffee. If I When you get back on the plane, then we're done."

Eight years ago, the 8-year-old Henderson was a member of the Coast Guard. Once, he fell from the dock and happened to fall on a floating log, breaking the fifth and sixth. spine, leaving him completely paralyzed from the chest down, with little movement in his arms.Doctors said he would never stand up again and would not be able to live without the help of others.But he still insists on exercising vigorously to restore his body.

Three weeks ago, he was carried on a plane.It occurred to him that he could learn to fly an airplane.He has time and a super pension for tuition.But his main concern was his ability to fly the plane.But now he realizes that getting on a plane may be as difficult as flying it.His physical recovery is far from being able to take on the challenge of a Piper Cherokee. The hump-like cockpit and wide lower wings are dazzling in the morning sun.Henderson put the wheelchair close to the fuselage, put one hand on the trailing edge of the wing, and propped himself up on the wheelchair with the other hand, propping himself up as much as possible.Then he turned to face the fuselage, moved his right elbow nimbly, moving towards the cockpit bit by bit.Patterson witnessed it all from the house.It's unbelievable.He said: "Literally crawling on the wing. That's the only word to describe it. It took him 3 minutes and when I walked out he was sitting in the pilot's seat, bleeding from a worn elbow. There was blood all over the cabin. Seeing him go through so much pain, I knew nothing could stop his determination."

But when Patterson sent Henderson to the FAA for a medical exam, the doctor who performed the exam, Dr. David Stoddard, a veteran pilot, was baffled.He said on the phone: "My God, less than 10% of his body can move!" Mori flew together to identify with his own eyes?The doctor agreed.

Everything now depends on the faculty and students.Together they tackle every problem that arises.Using the friction of the blanket can get Henderson onto the slick wing.A communication set worn on the head frees him from having to hold a radio receiver in his hands.They also changed the tiller to move vertically, which allowed Henderson to use his right arm instead of his feet to steer the unwieldy rudder.Patterson was pleased that Henderson's fingers seemed to be growing more nimbly, but he worried he didn't have enough strength to pull the stick back for takeoffs and landings in high winds.Henderson had an idea, why not make a metal hook on his wrist?Wouldn't it be easy to let go and pull like this?The first sample Henderson made himself at home, the pig iron frayed the wrist.Later, he fixed it together with a light aluminum plate from the hospital and a glove, which is very convenient to use.

After a few weeks of practice, they called Stoddard.Doctors at the airport witnessed Henderson dexterously circled the plane in a wheelchair and carefully performed a routine pre-flight ground inspection.After the instructor and doctor had boarded the plane, he did the pre-flight instrument check.Minutes later, the motor roared, and the plane raced towards the end of the runway before leaping into the gray sky.

The plane aimed at the wide flight path between Cascade and the Siskiyou Mountains. Like his instructor, Henderson deftly made a sharp turn, then turned around and smiled brightly at the stunned doctor. He raised his hands to signal that he was driving entirely by himself.

On November 1976, 11, Henderson completed 14 hours in the air.After the plane came to a steady stop, Patterson jumped out of the plane, turned around and shouted to Henderson, "Fly two more landings, and I'll wait for you in the office!" Pushed the accelerator with the right hand, released the hand brake, adjusted the direction and slid off the runway.In a few minutes he was flying into the sky.

At an altitude of 1000 feet, Henderson felt a surge of excitement that he had never had before. He imagined: "This is the greatest thing I have ever done in my life." Patterson looked forward to it on the ground. "How?" he asked. "It's like a dream!" Henderson replied.He thought, "This is the moment in my life when I can really take full responsibility for my own safety, and I can do it now!"

In the following months, Henderson, with the help of Dr. Stoddard, became the first quadriplegic patient to pass the instrument certification to obtain a commercial airline pilot's license.Dr. Stoddard said: "It is Henderson's will that makes him outstanding. His success is indeed blockbuster and unbelievable." Henderson's teacher Patterson said: "Go and fly with Henderson once." , you will understand him."

mother heart words
Faced with one's own physical condition, it takes courage to survive, and the strong Henderson not only actively exercises to survive, but can finally fly an airplane.How much sweat, how much heartache, maybe only Henderson knows, it is his will that makes him outstanding, there is no doubt about it.

Occasional works in a lifetime

In the 19th century, American John Pierpont graduated from Yale University and followed his grandfather's wish to choose teaching as his profession.His life looked promising.

However, fate seemed to play tricks on him. Pierpont was more than caring but not strict with his students. He soon became intolerable by the conservative education circle at that time, and ended his teaching career soon.

But he didn't care, still full of confidence.Soon he became a lawyer, ready to work hard to maintain the justice of the law.But he didn't seem to understand at all the principle of "serve whoever has money" that was popular at the time.He will turn down the business that comes to him because the client is a bad person; if a good person is treated unfairly, he will work hard for it regardless of pay.

Such a man was so intolerable to the legal profession that Pierpont had to leave and become a textile salesman.However, he doesn't seem to have learned from past setbacks, and he doesn't see the cruelty of competition. In negotiations, he always allows his opponents to gain a lot, while he only suffers losses.So, I had to change my career and become a pastor.However, he offended the parishioners by supporting Prohibition and opposing slavery, and was forced to resign.

In 1886, Pierpont died.In his 81-year career, nothing seems to come of it—except for one familiar song:
"Breaking through the storm, we rode fast across the fields in a sledge, we laughed and sang, the horses jingle bells, what a joy it is..."

This song has now become an indispensable song in Western Christmas - "Jingle Bells", its author is Pierpont.He wrote it as a present for the neighborhood children one Christmas Eve.There is no Jesus, no Santa Claus in the song, but only the snowy winter night, the crisp bells on the sleigh passing through the cold wind, the laughter and singing along the way, and the beautiful hearts of young friends who are not afraid of the wind and snow.

Pierpont may not have imagined that the occasional work in his life would have such a huge impact.This is in sharp contrast with his personal experience in life. What does it mean?He did not follow the crowd, so that he was squeezed out by people who were inferior to him in every business he made a living, but this did not mean that his ideals and pursuits were worthless.Today, his singing is solidified deep in people's hearts, isn't it a powerful explanation?

mother heart words
People with good thoughts may encounter setbacks for a while.However, you must hold firm beliefs, never give up your mind, and always believe that life and the world are good.

The Obsessive Dream of Becoming a Writer
Long ago, when Alix was in trouble, he learned to be patient, to wait, and to know the price of perseverance.

Many young people told Alix that they wanted to be writers.Alix always encouraged them to think like this, but he also made it clear that being a writer was not the same thing as writing an article.For the most part, these young men dreamed of wealth and fame, not hours of sitting at a typewriter, fighting for themselves in solitude and loneliness.Alix told them, "You want to be published, not to be writers."

In fact, writing is a lonely, unknown, and poorly paid job.Among the tens of thousands of writers, only a very small number of people can get the favor of the god of fate, and more people will never realize their dreams.Even those who have succeeded admit that they have been neglected for long periods of time and plagued by poverty.So does Alix.

When Alix left the Coast Guard after 20 years to become a freelance writer, he was not at all sure of the prospect.In New York, he knew only George Sim, a buddy they had grown up with in Herning, Tennessee.George had met Alix in a clean storage room in the Greenwich Village apartment complex, which he happened to be the caretaker of, and which was Alix's home.

The hut was dark and cold, and there was no bathroom, but Alix didn't care.He hurriedly bought an old typewriter and felt like a writer.

After about a year, Alix still had no breakthrough in writing, and he doubted his ability a little.It is so difficult to promote a work, and the money earned is barely enough to live on.But he knows that his wish is writing, which has been his dream for many years, and he will continue to fight for it, even though the road ahead is full of fear of failure and ups and downs.In those days, hope was like a phantom, and everyone who wanted to succeed knew what it was like to mix hope and anxiety.

Then one day, a phone call Alix received changed his life.But the call wasn't about an agent or editor calling to discuss publishing a book.Instead, it was a tempting call to tell him to give up his career.The caller was an old acquaintance of his from the San Francisco Coast Guard.Alix had borrowed some money from him, and now he wanted the money back.

"Alex, when will you pay me back my fifteen dollars?" Alix could hear his sarcasm.

"Wait until the next time I sell an article!" Alix replied.

"I've got a good idea," he said. "Now we need a public data manager for $6000 a year. If you want, come on!"

The annual salary was $6000, which was a lot of money at the time!It would buy him a nice house, an old car, pay off his debts, maybe save some money, and keep writing while he worked.

While the dollars were flying wildly in his head, a deep-rooted thought flashed from the bottom of Alix's heart: "I've always dreamed of being a writer, a professional writer, but now all I want is What is it!"

"No, thank you, I can persevere, I have to write." Alix replied firmly and confidently.

Putting down the phone, he paced up and down the cabin by himself, feeling like a fool.He opened the orange sideboard on the wall, took out the only stock in it - two cans of sardines, and took out the only 18 cents left in his pocket. He put the two cans and the only 18 cents He stuffed it into the wastebasket and said to himself, "Look, Alix, here's all the money you've made for yourself so far!"

Alix hoped that things would improve soon, but that didn't happen.Thank God, luckily George pulled him through.

Through George, Alix meets artists who are also struggling to realize their dreams.For example, John Dellony, who is a good painter, but he is always short of food and clothing, and whenever this happens, he goes to the butcher down the street to ask for a big bone-even though there is only a little bit of meat hanging on it. , and some wilted vegetable leaves from the grocer, with these two things you can make a delicious home-cooked soup.

Another fellow villager is a handsome young singer who is struggling to run a restaurant.It is said that if a customer wants a steak, he will immediately run to the supermarket down the street to buy it.His name was Harry Bellefort.

People like Delany and Bellefort set an example for Alix, and he learned that to keep working to achieve his dreams, he had to make some sacrifices and find ways to make ends meet.That's what living under the illusion of success is all about.

After learning his lesson, Alix gradually began to sell some articles, and he firmly believed that he would make a name for himself.

Fulfilling your dreams is a long and difficult trek.Just 17 years after he left the Coast Guard, his work "Roots" was published.In an instant, Alix achieved almost unprecedented fame and success, and the phantom of life became a dazzling halo.

mother heart words
A man who is good at waiting gets what he wants in the end.To achieve lofty ideals, some sacrifices must be made.After a long and difficult trek, we can reach the ideal shore.

An artist who never betrays his dreams
Although the famous Austrian composer Mozart had extraordinary musical talent, as he grew older and his works matured, what awaited him was poverty and oppression.His serious and progressive works are less and less accepted by the aristocrats who pursue pomp. Before the age of 22, Mozart traveled twice to apply for a job, but was unsuccessful, so he had to return to Salzburg as a court musician.

The new Grand Duke of Salzburg is very domineering, and musicians are even inferior to chefs in his eyes.He set two rules for Mozart: first, he was not allowed to perform anywhere; second, he was not allowed to leave Salzburg without the permission of the bishop.Every morning, he made Mozart sit in the corridor with other servants waiting to be assigned the day's work, and used Mozart as a handyman.

In 1780, Mozart, who could not endure the humiliating life in his hometown, came to Vienna and began the most brilliant period of music creation in his life.Although he was free, poverty followed.For this reason, he worked very hard. He got up early to compose music every day, worked as a tutor during the day, and had heavy performances at night. After returning, he continued to compose music until his hands were too tired to hold a pen.

(End of this chapter)