July 19th, 2006
A few months ago at one of my bookstore appearances, a reader asked me how I settled on a date for Marcus Flutie’s birthday. Was it random? Or chosen carefully? The rest of the conversation went like this:
Me: Um…I think I picked that date because it has some sort of significance. That way it would be easier to remember.
Reader: Oh! What’s significant about Marcus Flutie’s birthday?
Me: Um…I can’t remember.
Reader: Oh. Uh. Okay.
Me: So when is Marcus Flutie’s birthday, anyway?
Reader: [With a tone that can only be described as "duuuuuh."] July 19th.
Me: Oh! July 19th! That’s my wedding anniversary!
[Reader laughs heartily at my stupidity.]
There you have it. A little insight into my muddled writer’s mind.
Not-so-incidentally, Jessica’s birthday is the same as my loving husband’s. So you can see a theme here. Important dates = my husband. That’s about as personal as I’ll get in this very public forum.
