4 years out.

[Brian37]

The expression here is very much appreciated and understood.  My father's death at a young (his and my own) age left scars, yet enabled an awareness of some bare realities of life.

I can also relate to the football team story; my 6th grade teacher did the very same before Chicago Bears games.  (This practice enabled another realization - that sports weren't earnest endeavor, so it was positively silly to govern something as important as academic matters around their outcome.  I protested thereafter.)

Which, in the end, was poor protest timing for the 1985 year; the Bears lost only one game and won the Superbowl.   Its a funny old life.