My favorite dried fruit is dates. I especially love them in cake, cookies, or oatmeal. Arizona dates are best, yet they’re also the hardest to come by and expensive as well. Sweet dates grown in California come in a close second.
Dates take a lot of water to bring to maturity, and with California and Arizona experiencing a shortage of the precious commodity, dates grown in those two states are bound to get more costly.
Edible dates aren’t the only ones I’m fond of. For whatever reason, numerical dates bordering along historical events, birthdays, anniversaries, deaths, have significant meaning to me as well. Early on, I needed to know what was the most important thing that happened on my birthday, April 9.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Finding this out set me on a journey to learn as much about the American Civil War as possible. I would’ve been around nine years old at the time this mission started.
I haven’t stopped since. I’ve researched my grandparents, parents, brother, Joleen’s family, including friends. It might seem odd to some, but this quirkiness has allowed me to learn more about history and trivia than I would’ve known by merely reading books. My old brain should be full of data by now.
On January 4, Russia was the first country to put a satellite into space. Grandpa Hankins was born on that month and day. Vincent van Gogh, famous artist, died on July 29, this being the birthdate of Grandma Hankins.
My wife, Joleen, was born on March 27. The most significant event on that day was the Alaska Earthquake. Both our families moved there soon after. Go figure.
On March 11, almost one year ago, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan killing 20,000 people. Jim, my brother, was born on that month and day.
Mom came into this world on September 11. Of course, the World Trade Center terrorist attack happened on 9/11. Ironically, days are the same as her two sons were born.
Proverbs 9:11 was one of mom’s favorite verses. If you take the amount of letters in Proverbs (8), add 9, add 1, and then another 1, the total comes to 19, the same day as Joleen and my wedding anniversary.
On Dad’s birthday, September 23, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all slaves in Confederate territory be set free. On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. My youngest granddaughter, Mykah Mae, shares the same day and month.
Tua Tagovailoa, former Alabama Crimson Tide football player, and now Miami Dolphins quarterback, was born on March 2, same as my son.
My best friend and daughter were hatched on July 22, the identical day and month that the world’s first horseless carriage race took place in Paris, France. So fitting, because they’ve each earned a traffic ticket or two.
In my fiction writing, I’ve tried to incorporate important dates of family and friends in various chapters. I also use other tidbits of information involving things they’ve done, but would never openly claim what those items are. I keep a list of dates and jotted down notes at hand to choose from, yet mostly rely on memory.
Some family and friends reading my material might relate to something in print, but I’ll never confess to it being them. I believe intrigue to readers in believing such make the books that more special.
My grandchildren’s birth dates have now been incorporated into things published and yet to be published, while some day when they read these manuscripts, they’ll hopefully realize that grandpa was thinking of them at the time ink was put to paper.
I could go on and on here yet it’s time to stop. Filling my tummy with chewy dates satisfies hunger, while filling my brain with numerical dates with historical fact and trivial information attached helps keep the gears turning upstairs.
Obsessed as it might seem—there’s reason to persevere. It beats putting puzzles together, in these here golden years!
I like to write junk... 