from east lansing, michigan, welcome, the very persistent dave ellis. hey, dave. [cheers and applause] my, gosh. nine times altogether. >> nine times. >> six different cities. kept getting the rejection letters, the cards we give to you. >> brought 'em with me. >> you brought them with you here? so you saved every one? >> i always took one with me as motivation for the next time that i took the test. say, "look, i'm gonna show you guys. you're gonna pick me one of these times here." >> and look at you now! it paid off. >> now i have the ninth postcard that says, "congratulations. you're in the pool." and now i've got something even better.