June 21, 2016: Del Rio News-Herald * OPINION * Letter to the Editor * Life's mission: First man on Mars

Letter to the Editor,

First Man on Mars

“Junior, stop playing your video game and come eat dinner with us,” instructs his Mother.

“Okay Mom, I’ll be right there!” Junior shouts back as he always does, but somehow “I’ll be right there” never quite turns out to mean “I’ll be there right now”.

Dad puts his foot down and tells Mom and Missy, “We said dinner will be served now and if he doesn’t come then he can warm it up later, but he’ll have to forego the purchase of another game until he decides to join us for dinner.

Junior is standing at the kitchen door, “I’m here, I’m here.”

Dad begins, “Let’s pray. Missy, please lead is in prayer.”

“Okay Dad,” Missy gladly accepts the offer.

Junior just rolls his eyes, because he knows what an attention-getting actress Missy is becoming, ever since she was selected to play the Blessed Virgin Mary in the annual Holy Family Church Christmas Nativity play.

Finally Missy concludes her prayer with a resounding Amen and dramatically makes the Sign of the Cross.

Junior instantaneously starts scarfing-down his food.

After several mouthfuls and with food still in his mouth he informs his family that he has finished, “Thanks Mom, the food was great,” he manages to garble out, “I know it’s my turn to put the dishes away.”

“What’s the hurry?” inquires Dad.

“Dad, I’m up to the highest difficulty level and I know I can master it before I have to go to bed,” Junior ardently admits.

“What good is that going to do for you?” Dad digs sarcastically.

“Well, Dad,” Junior begins while stopping in his tracks to give this detailed account of the benefits of playing video games: “In an article published in “Psychology Today” it summarized the recent research demonstrating the long-lasting positive effects of playing video games on basic mental processes; such as perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. One correlational study, for example, demonstrated that video gamers were better than non-gamers in their ability to fly and land aerial drones and were essentially as good as trained pilots on this skill. And I will share with you that I have set as my life’s mission to be the first man to land on Mars.

Missy quickly interjects, “You mean first ‘person’ to land on Mars.”

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.