RUSHVILLE — You may have heard that there are people the world over who are all atwitter about a major event in the history of the planet, scheduled to happen Dec. 21, 2012.

As you know, I’m a very rational, reasoned kind of guy, but I have to admit, I’m pretty caught up in all the feverish talk about Dec. 21 myself. I mean, come on! it’s the day of the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl! And Ball State University, to which I often hitchhiked from Butler U in Indy to visit my high school sweetheart (it didn’t last) is playing in that game!

I don’t know about you, but “Ball State” and “football success” have never gone hand in hand in my mind; I always kind of figured that seeing Ball State in a bowl game wouldn’t happen until, like, the end of the world.

Prior to the momentous Beef O’Bowl, there’s something else pretty stupendous happening, at least in cultures that observe the same calendar that we do here in the U. S. of A.; it’s Dec. 12, 2012, also known by the alias of 12/12/12.

This is known as a “triple date sequence,” which coincidentally is something my high school sweetheart tried to get away with one Saturday that I’d hitchhiked up to Ball State to see her. I did mention that romance didn’t last, right?

Anyway, after a lot of careful, painstaking and detailed research, I discovered that this triple date sequence is the last one, get this, until the next one. Which is a long time off. Unless the gummint postpones the deadline for next year’s fiscal cliff-amity by adding a 13th month to 2013.

I read a quote online from a woman describing herself as a “numerologist” that 12/12/12 is a date that “resonates with the vibration and characteristics of beauty, love, laughter and fun.” But I would caution you, that sounds a lot like my high school sweetheart, and we all know where that went.

December 12 is also World Hoop Day, an international event that raises money to buy hula-hoops for needy kids, most of whom immediately ask upon receiving their hoop “How many iTunes does it store?” World Hoop Day has been held on previous sequential dates such as Nov. 11, 2011 and Oct. 10, 2010. I guess there won’t be another World Hoop Day for a looooong time. By which time they’ll have increased the hula-hoops iTunes capacity considerably.

I also read online about a kid who will celebrate his 12th birthday on 12/12/12, and he was born at 12:12 pm to boot! I consulted some numerological tables about this, and according to my calculations, on Dec. 12, 2021, when this kid reaches age 21, he will have to studiously avoid all of his friends, who will try to force him to guzzle 12 rapid-fire Jello shots beginning at precisely 12:12 p.m.

Who are some other famous people born on a “12/12/12” day? Well, there’s Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, born Dec. 12, 1712. He was an Austrian military leader who, according to Wikipedia, is most notable for the defeats he led his forces into. There’s John Sandfield MacDonald, the first premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, born Dec. 12, 1812. And our giddy tour of 12/12/12 celebrities pretty much ends there, although I can’t resist sharing that during my research, I learned about the Dahm triplets, Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn, born on 12/12/77, who grew up to become Playboy Playmates, and whose parents tattooed them (one tiny black dot on Nicole’s tushie, and two tiny black dots on Erica’s) so they could tell which baby was which.

Back to 12/12/12. This year’s version is “Aaron Rodgers Day” in the state of Wisconsin, where state legislators had nothing better to do last February than pass the resolution sanctifying the day to honor the Green Bay Packer quarterback. Why 12/12/12? Because Rodgers uniform number is 12. But as with many such seemingly simple stories, there’s MUCH more to it! You see, Rodgers was born in Dec. 2, 1983. And of course 12/2/83 can be added up to equal 97, which is the number of years (if you subtract 9) when, this is just amazing!, the next triple date sequence takes place!

I just hope I don’t find myself at Ball State University again as one of the guys being triple-dated.



TakeFiveT5@yahoo.com