September 10, 2009
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So, what's wrong with a little harmless numerology?
A Bolivian religious fanatic briefly hijacked a jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun as it landed in Mexico City on Wednesday, police said. All passengers and the crew were released unharmed........The Bible-carrying hijacker used a juice can he said was a bomb to hold the 103 passengers and crew on the tarmac for more than an hour....... Flores hijacked Aeromexico Flight 576 after a divine revelation, according to Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. Flores said Wednesday's date — 9-9-09 — is the satanic number 666 turned upside down.........Flores, speaking to reporters after he was detained, said he took control of the aircraft with "a juice can ... with some little lights I attached." "Christ is coming soon," he added, smiling......He ordered the pilot to circle over Mexico City seven times and asked to speak with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, saying he wanted to warn him of an impending earthquake.
Wait. It gets worse. They interviewed one of the passengers. Was she angry? Was she scared? Did she excoriate the hijacker for being a dangerous psychopath? Did she scold him for endangering the lives of everyone on board, including her own? Not exactly.
Passenger Pamela Cheatham, 48, an insurance industry employee from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is cautious about flying on "fateful" dates, but said she didn't make the connection with "9-09-09" — the number that obsessed the hijacker — until after the fact. "When I was doing my flight I was like, 'I don't want to fly on 9/11, but then it didn't hit me until this was all over," Cheatham said. "I should have evaluated that a little better."
Yes, and so should have everyone. What were people thinking flying on a date whose numbers, when arranged a certain way and then turned in a certain direction, bear a connection to an ancient mythical monster? Eesh.
On a side note, I personally would prefer to fly on September 11. In addition to the statistical unlikelihood of an incident, on what other day of the year would airport and security personnel be more wide awake and on their guard than that day?
On another side note, did anyone notice that because the proper abbreviation for this year is 09 and not simply 9, turning today's date upside down actually reads 6066? As Rosanne Rosannadanna might say, "Oh. Well, that's different. Nevermind."
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