Such a compliment (just like his Mom in NYC) is hard to come by. Moms have a special spot that other kids mock sometimes. We each have our own family traditions and values, after all.
JW, or interested person (as the case happens to be), may have a penchant for numbers from being around their Father, who know the number of hairs on all our heads. In this case, numbers reflect interest in people (whoever we are).