Thanks for the feedback.
In the end, I don't care about WRITE (the values won't change at run time). Most of my programs these days have to do with prop control, a LOT for Halloween, and as I'm an actor in LA and know a bunch of FX guys I help them, too. A lot of props use a simple sequencer template for the BSI that stores records like this:
EEPROM (%00000000, 0)
The first byte is what to put on the output pins, the second is how long (in timing units, usually 100 ms) to hold that state. In effect, it's a digital player piano. I'd like to duplicate this in the Ardunio -- it it's possible within the constraints of the language. What I'm really after is a named constant array that I can index through as the program runs.