Hmmm,
first knock back was the military, then a couple of years later the local aviation eyesight medical confirmed it, "you'll never be a commercial pilot."
absolutely shattered.
sitting in a motorcar one day, some years later with the bigboss number 1, that's the big cheese of this outfit himself. We were watching another '47 with capn flaps as the driver, trying rather laborously to outwit a couple of mooees in the drizzling rain.
courage, deep breath, "do you think you might be able to see your way clear to allowing me to be trained with your company sir."
silence. heart is pounding, more silence.
"Yeees weeellll." (north shore plum accent here with well rouounded vooowels), Youuu knoow we don't normally emploooy pilots with less than a Thououousand houours."
'YES SIR.'
"of courrrse, if we employ you, willll have to stayyy for at least two yeearrrs"
Think quick here boy, i say to myself, I'll do this standin on me f*n 'ed,
'Yessir'.
"Goooood, welll talk to our manager at Maascot, Mister Mattthews."
'yeser'
mr. Mathews was more considerably more condescendingly obtuse, the rest is history.
Oh the medical? that was a big gamble, came home properly broke after I did the commercial in the states with their slightly lower standard eyesight test, and having put up a good story to the doc, then five years later back in oZ front up to the same rigorous specialist test, big story, allowed through.
then they abolished the eye test until one turns sixty, grrrr, nother test, nother story. as a mate of mine once said, "how much did yer medical cost? ,mine cost a pocket full of tenners."
as they say, 'be bold, fortune favors the bold'.
not always I say, but try it.