TWO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS WHO CHANGED HISTORY

Willie was a senior at Steele High School: an outstanding student, especially in the subjects of literature, history, and science. He planned to attend Yale Divinity School after graduation. He was also a fine athlete, excelling in baseball, football, hockey, and gymnastics.

He was playing hockey with the high school varsity team on March Day when, all at once, his promising future blew away like dandelion fluff. A young fellow on the other team didn’t mean to hurt Willie; he just swung his stick back, accidentally striking Willie in the face. The damage was considerable.

Willie, who weighed less than 140 pounds, was knocked flat on his back. His front teeth went flying in all directions; his mouth was a bloody hamburger. A surgeon did the best he could, but Willie would have to stay home and rest for a while. Before the teenager was well enough to return to school, he developed terrible stomach trouble, and then heart trouble. He became a semi-invalid. The pressure of his studies would prove intolerable, so Willie dropped out.

He dropped out of high school. There would be no Yale, no ministry. The family's hopes for academic distinction now rested with Willie’s kid brother.

I said the family's hopes for academic distinction now rested with Willie’s kid brother. But this is the rest of the story.

The little brother disliked school. He was a bright pupil, just not sufficiently inspired by the curriculum. And something else: the teachers were often tough on him. Back in the sixth grade, for example, the youngster—this is the younger brother, remember—got into a bit of minor mischief. For this, his teacher, Miss Bond, sent him home and told him not to return until she had met personally with one of his parents.

There were two weeks left before the end of the school year. Dad was away on business; Mother was otherwise busy. So, the little boy… well, he never did finish the sixth grade. The family had moved to another town before he re-entered high school. He got good grades but once again failed to win the respect of many of his instructors, which may have exasperated him more than he let on. Anyway, one day before graduation, the boy quit school forever. His excuse was that there were too many required subjects that did not interest him. That was the reason he gave.

In any event, his academic career was over, as was his older brother’s. Surely their father must have anguished over the future of his sons—those two boys who would forever be high school dropouts in a highly competitive world.

The boys drifted in and out of some ordinary jobs. But then one day, these two dropouts, these two lads, neither of whom was making it in any specific job, teamed up. The result was one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind.

Your notions may have been misconceived regarding the two men who took that first giant leap at Kitty Hawk. Now, I hope you’ll always remember their initial underachievement: the two high school dropouts, Wilbur and Orville—the Wright brothers.

Because now you know the rest of the story.