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I teach third grade. There are many times throughout the year in which I have to randomly choose a child for whatever reason. One example would include two kids teaming up on making a poster and I have to pick the one that gets to take it home after the project is graded/complete.

Instead of flipping a coin for such things, I roll a die. Lately, whenever I've rolled our 'special die', it has come up as a 6. This has happened with such frequency lately that the kids have been saying, 'It's going to be a 6' before I even roll.

Yesterday we were having problems with hallway talking during bathroom breaks, so I gave them a little motivation to stay quiet before we went out for our afternoon stop. As we were standing in the room I said, 'If I don't hear ANY voices in the hall during this break, I will roll the die twice when we get back. If it comes up '6' both times, we'll skip silent reading today and I'll give you 15 minutes of computer time instead.'

The strategy worked; didn't hear a peep during our break. When we got back in the room I was thinking, 'We really should get our silent reading in today. It's a 1 in 36 shot it doesn't happen though, so I should be safe.'

So they all sit down and I grab the magic die. I fling it across the room, it bounces off the wall and sure enough, it comes up '6'. You can imagine the cheer I'm sure.

So now I'm thinking, 'Down to a 1 in 6 chance. I'm still safe. Maybe.'

I fling it halfway across the room once again. Yep, you guessed it. Another 6.

 Imagine the cheer in your head. 

It was even louder than that.

Spending your days with 8 and 9 year olds is priceless.

Intellivision

The Intellivision game system was released nationwide in 1980. I don't know the exact date I learned of its existence, but I do know that I wanted one as a teen.

Badly.

In the fall of 1982 my brother and I were desperate for an Intellivision game system. As luck would have it, my Uncle John (Dad's brother) was on the board for the local Catholic schools' football league for 7th and 8th graders, and he hired us to work the games. We were two members of a three man crew that moved the ball marker and first down chains during the games. These games were played every Sunday afternoon and since it was a six team league, each of those afternoons would see us work three separate games. Our pay was a mighty $10 apiece for the day's work.

My brother and I saw this as an opportunity to purchase the cherished game system. We needed $300 for the game system and the job would see us bring home a total of $280 over the course of the 14 week season. Birthday money obtained that fall would push us over the top of the needed $300 goal.

We learned just what we had gotten ourselves into that first Sunday of the season. The job saw us at the field for several hours, as each game took over an hour, plus there was plenty of down time in between games. The weather that first day was less than ideal; we learned how soaked one could get when standing on a sideline for three games while it's raining.

By halftime of the second game, my brother and I decided we had enough. We were going to quit after one day's work. We couldn't fathom the thought of giving up another 13 Sundays and dealing with being on our feet, the loud (and sometimes rude) coaches, the boredom between games, and of course the inclement weather. The money for the Intellivision would just have to be earned some other way. Or better yet, maybe we could just get our parents to buy it for us without all this hassle and inconvenience of working for it!

So when we got home that first Sunday, we announced to our parents that we were quitting. The conversation went something like this:

Me: We're quitting.

Mom: No, you're not.

Dad: You made a commitment to work that job through the entire season when you accepted it. You're staying true to your word.

Me: But.............

Dad: There's nothing more to discuss. You'll be there every Sunday for the rest of the season.

Needless to say, my brother and I were not happy.

We fulfilled our commitment. We were there every Sunday for those following three months, lugging the chains when first downs were made, dealing with the weather, dealing with the boredom, dealing with it all.

At the conclusion of the season we received our money and we bought the Intellivision game system shortly thereafter. Countless hours of entertainment were had as a result of this entire experience. But something far more important happened to me because of it.

It was one of the greatest life lessons my parents have ever taught me. The true meaning of the words 'commitment' and 'work ethic' were taught to us through that experience. We also learned the meaning of the word 'reward'.

Today I'm a 46 year old man. Long after the autumn days of 1982 I held part time jobs, went on to college, and have now had my current teaching position for 23 years to date. I may not have such a track record to speak of today if the events that occurred in 1982 had never unfolded.

 I've also raised my own children and tried to instill the values of money, commitment, and work ethic into them, just as my parents did all those years ago. They will benefit from their grandparents' indirect teachings for a lifetime.

This story is just one of the many life lessons Bob and Sheryl taught me through the years. Thank you Mom and Dad. Thank you for not only teaching me the lessons of life, but for doing it so well that I've been able to instill them into my own children too. Our lives are all better because of the values you instilled in me.

                                  The Intellivision, 30+ years later