Yesterday was July 7th. July 7th is honestly one of my favorite dates each and every year.
It’s not my birthday. It’s not Christmas. It’s not even a national holiday. But it’s a date where every single year I remember all four of my grandparents, the last of whom passed away 24 years ago (2002). Because I can still see my grandparents and my parents sitting in a circle in the backyard on a sunny July 7th 1977 chatting away about, of all things, the date. The reason I remember that this was July 7th 1977 is because that date was all 7’s — 7/7/77 — and I remember my grandparents talking about that and my dad’s dad saying, “The next one of these isn’t until August 1988” like they couldn’t believe that 1988 was actually in the distant horizon.
It’s funny to think about July 7th 1977.
For starters, 1988 was still 11 entire years away. But more than that Elvis was still alive. Let me repeat that. Elvis — who seems like he has been gone as long as Jesus or Muhammad or George Washington — was alive. He’d actually die a few weeks later, which I remember because a few weeks later I was riding with my friend Darryl’s family to the state fair while the radio was broadcasting news about Elvis’s death.
Another strange thing about that date in 1977? The very first Star Wars was truly a monster first run hit in the actual theaters, wherein it seemed like every citizen in the entire country was patiently waiting in lines that were hours long for the privilege of seeing it for the first time. My family actually went to see it twice, something we never did (note: VCRs and even cable TV were not yet a thing — those would come in the early (cable) to mid (VCRs) 80s).
But more than the events surrounding that time and that date, what I most remember is my four grandparents sitting together in my backyard with my parents who were just turning 30, discussing the “neat” feature about it being July 7th 1977 or 7777.
Happiness are things that jog fond memories. Especially when those memories include loved ones who passed long ago. Because just like that the magic of the brain conjures a moment from the past that we can soak in for a few moments and actually feel the happiness around us. For me, happy memories are one of the great Sorcerers of Life, a Sorcerer who visits me every July 7th, which in this case was yesterday.
Wishing you a happy memory today.
Life, Work & Wonder 