Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Shell, Georgia on March 20, 2007:

I enjoyed this week's edition. The number don't mean diddly to me, I find people's attitudes about it as amusing as you do, and I thought you'd find the following interesting: My son, the first child born to me, came into the world on June 6th, 2006. My wife and I chose the date. Her actual due date was June 4th but the boy takes after his Daddy as well as looks like him, so he was late. We were in the doc's office for a regular visit on the 6th and the doctor said we should come back the following Monday, if baby hadn't debuted yet by then, and they would induce labor. We, knowing that many people had stayed out of work, rearranged appointments, and done other things to avoid being out and about on 6/6/06, asked if we could just go ahead that day and get it over with. The doc hadn't considered the date until we mentioned it, so she checked with the hospital and, lo and behold, it wasn't too busy to get us right in. At 8:04 PM, Sean took his first breath. Proud daddy, me.

I imagine he'll get some grief about the birthdate as he goes through life, but I think he'll deal with it OK. I intend to do my best to teach him to think for himself and not pay much mind to the carping of strangers. Besides, he'll know the reason his Daddy wanted him to show up on that particular date. 62 years before, the free men of the world launched the most ambitious military operation in history to free Europe from its oppressor. I couldn't think of a better way to honor the memory of that day and all the people who brought it about and participated in it than to have my son celebrate his birthday every year on the anniversary of it. I hope he understands the significance someday.

As for his name, I'd decided long before the boy was ever thought of what his name would be. A friend of mine since we were in junior high school died on Halloween 2004, one day past his 40th birthday. Sean Bednarz was a good man, a retired US Navy submarine sailor who'd spent over fifteen of his twenty years in service at sea, something that's almost unheard of in the modern Navy. That's where he wanted to be, though. Where else would a true sailor want to be, right? It cost him promotions because he was more interested in doing the job than getting his ticket punched for advancement. At his retirement ceremony a former commanding officer of his called it an injustice that he hadn't made it higher than CPO. I was and am proud of Sean for his service and was looking forward to spending time with him after his retirement, time together that we'd missed out on while he was defending the nation, and hearing his sea stories. Less than two years after his retirement, he was gone. When his dad called me with the not-unexpected news, the first words I said to my wife, after I'd cried a while and then taken time to gather myself, were, "Someday, honey, if we have a son, I'd like to name him Sean." She agreed without demur. I miss him every day, but have my son to remind me of him.

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I think Sean has a great daddy, and a lot to be proud of. I'm guessing he's going to turn out to be an awesome man. -rc

Posted by Megan, Arizona on March 24, 2007:

Haha, your 666th issue reminds me that the Arizona DMV thinks I'm the Antichrist. In my Az ID (but I won't say were) is the number 666. I once was writing a check and the cashier was writing this info on the check, noticed this number and actually crossed herself! And I personally DON'T think I look like someone who'd be an AntiChrist! People are so rude and silly nowadays.

Posted by Zach, Astoria Oregon on March 24, 2007:

I got real kick out your 666th issue so I figured I'd stop by to give you a virtual pat on the back. Then it happened... After clicking on the link for this thread I noticed an ad for "Ann Coulter Emails" in 1 of your Adsense image boxes. How utterly perfect! Could there actually be some truth behind the 666 fairy tale?

Anyway, many thanks for another divine division of THIS is TRUE :)

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Really? I didn't see that ad on this thread. (I of course have no influence on what ads are shown; that's all handled by Google.) But indeed I've seen some real "winner" ads on my stuff. Sometimes it drives me nuts. -rc

Posted by David - Orlando on March 25, 2007:

I read the story of baby Sean and realized that my 1st born son is the exact same age. Wonder how many babies are born each minute...

My son JD was born 8:04PM 06/06/2006, ok fine 6/6/6 if you will. I'm not a superstitious man, don't care about 13th floors, or Fri. 13th, or walking under a ladder; if it's secure. I've even broken a mirror or two. I do however believe the Bible and understand the sign of the anti-christ. Some believe it to be NERO, or even VISA if you do some weird number to alphabet conversions. We decided on a name for our son way before he was born, and a girl name if that's what my wife delivered. I joked with the nurses about naming him Damien and such (from the movie the Omen).

The only time I had finally had enough of the 666 bit was when they assigned us delivery room 6. I said, "I'm not superstitious, but seriously do I have to see that number all day?" They kindly moved us up a room to room 7. Only to be given the recovery room of 66 on the second floor. Sigh.

Posted by Marion on March 25, 2007:

For 35 yrs. I lived in Topeka, Kansas, home of the notorious Fred Phelps and church. In the early 1970's I saw that PO Box One was available and have had that ever since.

Every Topeka zip code starts out 666. Mine is 66601. Even though I have not lived there for 8 yrs., I still keep that box and have mail forwarded to me.

Surely got lots of comments from folks about the number one post office box with that zip code. Guess I ought to advertise that p.o. box on eBay. :)

Posted by Garret Kim on March 26, 2007:

Strange that some people are so afraid of the number 666 when it appears, and still give no credence to 999 (spiritual completion, also associated with the Christ) when it happens to show itself. I guess they need something, anything, to be afraid of, no matter how silly. Even to create a word like Triskaidekaphobia. Coming very soon, too: April 13, 2007 falls on a Friday, for those who want to start panicking early.

Posted by Richard, Ohio on March 26, 2007:

I seem to remember that two or three years ago, there seemed to be a brief flurry of interest in which religious scholars seemed to indicate that the number of the beast was actually 616. The NPR show of "Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me" made mention that this was an area code in Michigan; so if you wanted to see the devil, one could call Tuesday. The problem was that the President was scheduled to be in Michigan giving a speech that day. Apparently "Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me" had the original story and two successive apologies.

As for the attack on the IRS, I do understand that the tax laws are complicated, loopholes, and are constantly modified. I know that given the same set of information that four accountants can come up with different results for taxes for a family (USA Today, Financial Section. 26 March 2007).

While it is difficult to part with the hard earned money and the organization that collects and enforces the tax laws is universally hated, please remember that in the USA, CONGRESS is the legal government body that creates the tax laws that the IRS must implement, enforce, and educate the public.

Yes, I curse the taxes also. I curse the "15 April" date. I also realize that this collection of taxes is the main method that the government uses to finance Defense, Social Programs, Road construction, Research, ….

Again a wonderful issue. Thank you!

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Do you work for the IRS, Richard? But yes, point taken: you're right that the basis of the tax code, and much of the complexity therein, can be blamed on Congress -- the article you mentioned (which I found and added a link for) notes that for 2007, the tax code is 67,204 pages long. How can even a full-time tax professional know everything that's in something that huge?!

That said, federal agencies make the rules to comply with those laws, and they also are needlessly complex in many cases. (E.g., the IRS, not Congress, creates the forms. And if I, an intelligent, college-educated adult can't figure out a basic form, it's too complex.) -rc

Posted by Dan - Maple Heights, Ohio on March 27, 2007:

The comment made by Garret Kim about April 13, 2007 being on a Friday reminded me that my wife is scheduled for surgery on that very day. When the nurse noticed that, she offered to change the date. My wife laughed at her and insisted it stay on that date. We both find superstitions to be a great source of entertainment.

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Best of ...um... luck to her! :-) -rc

Posted by Russell, Idaho on March 27, 2007:

After episode #666 I thought of this word that I can almost pronounce: Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia -- literally: "fear of the number six-hundred and sixty-six".

Posted by Karen in Mountain View, CA on March 27, 2007:

Reading all these tales reminds me that I used to walk the same route in Oakland, CA for exercise most mornings. I couldn't help but notice that one house stood for months with a lonely "For Sale" sign out front. Its street number? You guessed it. It was also in need of a paint job, but so are a lot of other houses that sell like hotcakes in the Bay Area.

It so happened that there was a gap between the numbers on the adjacent houses that was large enough to allow assigning a new street number to the house. I came back from vacation to find the house newly painted, numbered 668, and with a "Sold" sign out front.

Coincidence? I think not... :^)

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So it's not the "home of the beast" anymore, but instead "neighbor of the beast". Whatever works, eh? -rc