17

The number 17 plays an extraordinary role in our family. Numerologists could have a field day with this information.

I’ve honestly lost count of all the family members - on both sides of both sides - who have birthdays on the 17th, for example. In this household, alone, three of the four were born on the 17th (I’m the odd man out).

Holly loves being a St. Paddy’s girl and we have a green-tinted celebration each year.

Paul loves his number 17 so much, in fact, that it became his uniform number on the Choppers all those years.

I don’t think Lisa gives it that much thought!

I honestly thought the birthday club started with my grandfather - also born on the 17th - but when I was diving into genealogy research during the spring and summer, I found other 17ers on the family tree before Pap.

It’s not just birthdays, though, that bring the number 17 into our family focus. These digits seem to come up again and again. Lisa and I met each other in a classroom in the Communications Building when we were in college at the University of Tennessee. It was Room 317. (I wish I could tell you we met on the 17th, but that would be stretching the truth…we actually met on the 9th).

Anyway, as it turns out, the 28th anniversary of the day we met in Room 317 is tomorrow.

I happened to be on the UT campus earlier this week. I dropped by to see Lisa for a minute and, on my way out of the building, I spotted Holly. She was sitting on one of the benches in the hall by the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame. I spent many hours on those same benches when I was a student.

I can’t tell you how many times I walked past this collection of photos over the years. On some occasions, I’d pause to consider the place of these individuals in the history of this great state. More often, I breezed past them on my way to a study session or my next class.

I probably also hurried past them on the morning of November 9 on my way to my Communications History class which met in Room 317.

There we were the other day, just outside good ol’ 317 when I realized something that somehow escaped me. Room 317 is no longer simply ‘the room where Jeff and Lisa met.’ It is now the Peyton Manning Classroom.

The University dedicated this room to the football legend (and alumnus of the College) in September of 2010 (without looking, I’m guessing that was a bye week in the NFL schedule for Manning’s former NFL team, the Colts). Not sure how it happened, but I missed this story.

In any case, our hallowed ground now has greater notoriety and association with a UT legend.

Oh and by the way, when he played college ball, Peyton Manning wore uniform #16; in the NFL he wears #18. In between is, well…you know.

You can’t make this stuff up.

JG

(Source: utk.edu)

Originally posted 11/8/2012