Connections

My oft blogged about seven-year-old likes to make "connections."  His first grade teacher last year taught him to look for connections in what he was reading - maybe something he related to or had in common.  So, every once in awhile he will excitedly point out that "he has a connection" to whatever we're reading or talking about.  It's a great way to engage him.

I wasn't taught in that same manner, but I recently made a connection.  You know, one of those "Aha!" moments.  If you will recall, I recently blogged about my hickory tree and the edibility or inedibility of the hickory nuts.  Well, I discovered (with a little more research and a taste sample) that the nuts landing all over my yard are indeed edible.  (I just have to fight the squirrels for them.)

Here's my connection and a nod towards my age.  I recall as a child Yule Gibbons, a naturalist, hawking for Grape Nuts cereal.  I thought I remembered him saying the cereal reminded him of the taste of wild hickory nuts.  To check that memory I found an old commercial on youtube, and that's exactly what he said.  At the time I didn't have a clue what a wild hickory nut even was.  But now I do!  It seems like such a simple thing, but it was great to make the connection!

(And by the way, I don't agree.  A pecan is a type of hickory, and my hickory nuts are also a soft nut and taste a lot like pecans.  But who knew?)