Then there were the eights and the nines. They were my challenge. I worked hard, but I just couldn't learn them. About that time that I heard about "osmosis." I hooked a tape to our reel-to-reel tape recorder. I got it all set up and turned it on "record." Then I began speaking into the microphone as I read the times tables. I did all of them, but concentrated on the eights and nines.
I had about an hour's worth of times tables on my tape. I placed it by my bed and just before going to sleep, I turned it on so I could learn in my sleep. It didn't play all night though. The tape ran out when it was done. I don't know if it was through osmosis or through diligent study while I was awake, but I did pass off the eights and nines. The tens were the easiest and the elevens weren't bad either. The twelves didn't give me much of a challenge. By that time I had developed a pretty good knack for learning the times tables.
That long awaited day came when Mrs. Church colored in the last space on the chart for my name. True to her word, like with the rest of us, she gave me a shinny yellow Eversharp pencil. I used it with pride for years to come.
Coming Tomorrow: Strobe Light
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