Whenever I start to think I’m unlucky, I think about this story. I was working at a small independent school outside of Washington, DC - about 800 kids from K through 12th grade. Small enough that they took the independent concept to a new level, and did things with a common sense, practical attitude. For example, the disposal of old technology consisted of using an item until it was just beyond its useful life, then storing it for a few years in an attic, basement, or other nook, then when that space was needed the item would be moved to one of several old inert school busses. Eventually, when the bus filled up, someone would transfer all the stuff and take it to the e-waste recycling place.

I found this TV in the back of one of the buses. Who knows how long it had been there, or how much longer before it was carted off? As soon as I saw Zenith I thought ‘Rauland?’ and could not believe it when I checked the tube number and found A63AAX01X - a mere one digit away from the original tube in my Star Wars cockpit (A63AAX00X). I later learned the ‘1’ has to do with the depth of the mounting tabs at the corners of the tube - surely an obstacle that could be overcome. It was brought home and tucked into the garage.