The Lesson of Eulan Brown

When I was growing up in Reynolds, Eulan Brown delivered Grits papers on his bicycle. He had a muscular disease and had a terrible time keeping his balance. The disease also affected his facial features.

My buddies and I made fun of Eulan and always laughed at him because he and his bicycle were almost always in the ditch with Grits papers strewn all over the ditch. We would even boo him when we came up behind him on our bicycle so we could watch him lose his balance on his bike and run in the ditch. We thought we were pretty cool when we did that.

Eulan was also the butt of many jokes at spend the night parties. Someone would jokingly scream, “Eulan is looking in the window!” We would all take off running in different directions.

One day I sat down on the little stool at the counter at Hicks Trussell’s grocery store to order a hamburger. The place was full of folks that day and there was only one stool vacant.

Eulan Brown sat down right next to me.

I almost got up to leave. But for some reason I didn’t.

Eulan began asking me questions and talking to me. I was surprised that he knew who I was and that he even knew my parents and grandparents. I answered his questions and we actually had a conversation.

It didn’t take me long to realize that Eulan was not stupid.

I was riding my bicycle down one of the streets of Reynolds soon after that and I saw Eulan. His bicycle was on its side as usual and Grits papers were all over the place. I did something that day I had never done before. I stopped to help Eulan gather his papers and get them back in the basket. I even helped him stand his bicycle up so he could get back on it and continue on down the road.

I never laughed at Eulan Brown again.

I learned something that day from Eulan. And I have thought about it at least a thousand times.

I have also tried to live my life by the lesson I learned that day.

I found that there would be many times in my own life that I would find myself in the ditch flat on my face with my papers strewn all over the place. I would always have two choices. I could lie in the “ditch” and feel sorry for myself or I could gather the “papers” back up and put them back in the basket and go on down the road.

Eulan was always gathering and starting over on that bicycle. I never forgot that.

I learned another lesson from Eulan Brown.

And it is this.

Most people never become winners because they are afraid to lose.

When I played basketball in high school I noticed that when the game was on the line and only a few seconds left in the game, most people didn’t want the ball. They wanted to win and they wanted to be on the winning team but they didn’t want to risk being the goat.

There were always only a very few people who wanted the ball when the game was on the line.

In order to be a winner you have to be willing to be the goat.

You can write that down.

Eulan Brown was not afraid to lose. Every day he knew there was a real possibility that he would spend more time gathering his papers than he would delivering them. He knew there was a real possibility he would look foolish to little boys who were watching.

But he kept putting himself in that position anyway.

And the lesson for us is if we are going to win we have to be stretched and take risks. And there is nothing wrong with falling flat on our face a few times along the way.

It is the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

And it is the path to the winners circle.

I will never forget the lesson I learned from Eulan Brown.