Coincidences

I like to read. I try to read a variety of subjects, but still the tendency is for me to read more non-fiction than fiction. I've been told by those close to me that I have a slight problem. I refer to myself as a voracious reader. Whatever the case, there is no question that I like books.

Given my profession, I pick up on patterns. For example, Ernie Banks hit his five hundreth home run on May 12, 1970 (5.12.70). He ended up with 512 career home runs. Perhaps no one else would notice this, but I would.

I've noticed a similar pattern with my reading. The closest person in my life downplays it as mere coincidence. I refer to it as eerie. I know of no other way to describe it.

When I read a book, I find, something happens that bears an eerie connection to something in real life. For example, when I read the book Unbroken, about Louie Zamperini, I began the book on January 26. When I began reading the book, I discovered that that was his birthday. Another time I was reading a book on the American Revolution. Some Brit personage named Urquhart figured in the story. A day or so later I drove by a store named Urquhart's. Most people would readily agree that Urquhart is not a name commonly found in America.

I started reading an exposé on Coca-Cola virtually on the same day it was invented. What are the odds of this happening? Mere coincidence can't be the only explanation.

One of the weirdest happenings involved an otherwise innocent book called Big Game, Small World, about basketball's spread across the globe. In it, the author travels to tiny nation of Bhutan where basketball has really taken root. He describes playing in a pick-up game with Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the crown prince, who is an avid player. That same month the prince announced his engagement and marriage to Jetsun Pema. The chances that I would ever read a book about Bhutan are slim and none, yet I read a book about hoops wherein this prince figures and within the same month he gets engaged and married, making international news.

Mere coincidence? I think not.

(c) 2012 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles