the
couch and turned the television off. “Well, why don’t you sit
down and tell us what you’ve decided,” Joe said.
“I’ve given it a
lot of thought and, well, you know how much I like to solve puzzles.
So I thought it would be a good idea to work solving puzzles or code
breaking. It seems they’re working more and more with computers for
high-tech decryption, so I think the best choice would be for me to
go to MIT or UCLA. I’ll write to both of them and tell them I’ll
be deciding between the two of them.” Christopher paused for a
moment, waiting for his parent’s reaction. To him their opinion was
very important.
Joe and Mary looked at
each other for a moment, then turned to Christopher. “Well, son,”
Joe spoke first, “I think you’ve made a very wise and logical
choice.”
“Whatever you decide,
you know your father and I are behind you one hundred percent,”
Mary added.
“Thanks, Mom; thanks,
Dad. I’m going to write the letters to them now so I can mail them
tomorrow.”
“When you finish, why
don’t you come down and watch some television with your father and
me?”
“Sure, Mom.”
Christopher didn’t particularly care for television much, but he
knew he would soon be going away to school, and it was a chance to
spend a little time with his parents.
After going over the
return letters from MIT and UCLA, Christopher decided to attend MIT.
If he was going to work with code encryption of any significance, it
meant working with the government and possibly with the CIA or the
NSA. In any case, Christopher felt MIT had more to offer him for a
future in this type of work. Christopher felt fortunate there was a
field he could work in that allowed him to do what he enjoyed.
Christopher continued
to attend school year-round as he had for the past seven years. His
parents would miss having him there each summer, but he would at
least be there for holidays. His studies were too important to take
too much time away from school each summer. He knew his parents,
especially his mom, would not be overjoyed with this decision, but
they had always respected his choices in the past and would continue
to do so. Christopher felt fortunate to have such good parents—ones
who stood behind him one hundred percent, even if it meant saying
goodbye as he left for school.
“You know, if you
change your mind and decide to come home for summer vacation, just
let me know.”
“I’m going to miss
you too, Mom,” Christopher responded. “I’ll be back
Thanksgiving and for the Christmas holidays. By the way, what would
you like for Christmas?”
“How about a big hug
from my favorite son? I’ve got everything else I could ever want.”
Christopher stopped
packing for a moment and gave his mother a big hug. “I’ll think
of something.”
“As soon as your
shirts come out of the dryer, I’ll iron them and bring them right
up so you can finish packing. Would you like me to fix you something
to eat before we leave for the airport? I could make you a sandwich,
or I could heat up some of that chicken from last night.”
“You know how much I
love your chicken, Mom. That would be great.”
“Chicken it is. It
will take about twenty minutes. I’ll let you know when it’s
ready,” Mary responded.
Mary went to the
kitchen and put some chicken into the oven to reheat for Christopher,
took his shirts from the dryer and ironed them, and took them
upstairs. “Here’s your shirts. I think that’s everything. The
chicken will be ready in a minute or two, so don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be down in
just a minute, Mom.”
Mary put the chicken
out for Christopher to start on, then went to answer the knock at the
door. “Hi, Linda, come on in.”
“Hi, Mary. I just
came by to say goodbye to Christopher, and I brought him some cookies
I baked for the trip. You know how bad that airplane food is.” Mary
and Linda went into the kitchen and sat at the table with
Christopher.
“Hi, Christopher. I
came
couch and turned the television off. “Well, why don’t you sit
down and tell us what you’ve decided,” Joe said.
“I’ve given it a
lot of thought and, well, you know how much I like to solve puzzles.
So I thought it would be a good idea to work solving puzzles or code
breaking. It seems they’re working more and more with computers for
high-tech decryption, so I think the best choice would be for me to
go to MIT or UCLA. I’ll write to both of them and tell them I’ll
be deciding between the two of them.” Christopher paused for a
moment, waiting for his parent’s reaction. To him their opinion was
very important.
Joe and Mary looked at
each other for a moment, then turned to Christopher. “Well, son,”
Joe spoke first, “I think you’ve made a very wise and logical
choice.”
“Whatever you decide,
you know your father and I are behind you one hundred percent,”
Mary added.
“Thanks, Mom; thanks,
Dad. I’m going to write the letters to them now so I can mail them
tomorrow.”
“When you finish, why
don’t you come down and watch some television with your father and
me?”
“Sure, Mom.”
Christopher didn’t particularly care for television much, but he
knew he would soon be going away to school, and it was a chance to
spend a little time with his parents.
After going over the
return letters from MIT and UCLA, Christopher decided to attend MIT.
If he was going to work with code encryption of any significance, it
meant working with the government and possibly with the CIA or the
NSA. In any case, Christopher felt MIT had more to offer him for a
future in this type of work. Christopher felt fortunate there was a
field he could work in that allowed him to do what he enjoyed.
Christopher continued
to attend school year-round as he had for the past seven years. His
parents would miss having him there each summer, but he would at
least be there for holidays. His studies were too important to take
too much time away from school each summer. He knew his parents,
especially his mom, would not be overjoyed with this decision, but
they had always respected his choices in the past and would continue
to do so. Christopher felt fortunate to have such good parents—ones
who stood behind him one hundred percent, even if it meant saying
goodbye as he left for school.
“You know, if you
change your mind and decide to come home for summer vacation, just
let me know.”
“I’m going to miss
you too, Mom,” Christopher responded. “I’ll be back
Thanksgiving and for the Christmas holidays. By the way, what would
you like for Christmas?”
“How about a big hug
from my favorite son? I’ve got everything else I could ever want.”
Christopher stopped
packing for a moment and gave his mother a big hug. “I’ll think
of something.”
“As soon as your
shirts come out of the dryer, I’ll iron them and bring them right
up so you can finish packing. Would you like me to fix you something
to eat before we leave for the airport? I could make you a sandwich,
or I could heat up some of that chicken from last night.”
“You know how much I
love your chicken, Mom. That would be great.”
“Chicken it is. It
will take about twenty minutes. I’ll let you know when it’s
ready,” Mary responded.
Mary went to the
kitchen and put some chicken into the oven to reheat for Christopher,
took his shirts from the dryer and ironed them, and took them
upstairs. “Here’s your shirts. I think that’s everything. The
chicken will be ready in a minute or two, so don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be down in
just a minute, Mom.”
Mary put the chicken
out for Christopher to start on, then went to answer the knock at the
door. “Hi, Linda, come on in.”
“Hi, Mary. I just
came by to say goodbye to Christopher, and I brought him some cookies
I baked for the trip. You know how bad that airplane food is.” Mary
and Linda went into the kitchen and sat at the table with
Christopher.
“Hi, Christopher. I
came
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