Holder of taxi medallion #666 wants the number retired

[Dope Nose]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/24/BAG8OR5N0O1.DTL

Evil seems to befall cab 666 -- driver seeks intervention
Taxi commission to consider issuing a new medallion

Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer

The San Francisco Taxi Commission is set to decide this evening whether one of the city's cabs is "associated with evil and Satan.''

And its decision, according to the official agenda, has implications involving no less than Armageddon, St. John the Divine, Good Friday, the Book of Revelation and the Mark of the Beast.

At its regular meeting, the commission will consider a request from the distraught holder of taxi cab medallion No. 666 to have the number retired.

Driver Michael Byrne complained that the number is bad luck and persuaded assistant commission executive director Jordanna Thigpen to take up his cause with a two-page memo to the board.

"The problems ... are of great severity,'' Thigpen said in her memo. "The number 666 has been associated with evil and with Satan for hundreds of years. The number first appears in the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Revelation describes Armageddon and offers the number 666 as a method of recognizing the followers of 'the beast,' or evil.''

A few years ago, Thigpen said, the cab held by medallion holder 666 "burned to a crisp on Good Friday ... and the only thing remaining after the fire were the numbers 666, visible in the rubble.''

Byrne, a 30-year veteran driver, was assigned No. 666 only last August, Thigpen said, after another applicant refused to accept the number. Since then, sources said, Byrne has been involved in at least one accident -- even after taking the precaution of having the cab blessed at Mission Dolores.

"Do I believe in the Mark of the Beast myself?'' Thigpen said in an interview. "No. But there is a lot of negative energy around that cab. If we can help somebody out, why not do it? If something's a nuisance, it's our duty to get rid of it, right?''

A commission clerk, who asked not to be identified, said Byrne "had many deaths around him and his family'' and that getting rid of the cursed number "is an idea that speaks for itself.''

On the meeting agenda is a four-paragraph resolution explaining the problem and requesting that Medallion 666 be retired and that Medallion 1307 be issued as a replacement -- even though that number begins with the spooky digits "13."

Thomas George-Williams, chairman of the United Taxicab Workers union, said No. 666 has "quite a history" and that cabbies love to tell ghost stories about it between fares, but that the commission ought not to get involved in superstitions.

He said taxi drivers already must remember there is no 13th Avenue in San Francisco. The name of the thoroughfare between 12th and 14th avenues was long ago dubbed Funston Avenue, to keep Armageddon at bay.

"I think this is going to make the city look a little silly for taking it up,'' George-Williams said. "Where does it stop? I don't think the city needs to spend time getting involved in something like this.''

your tax dollars at work.

 

[Victarion]

If he's uncomfortable with it, where's the harm in just giving him a different medallion? No muss, no fuss, everyone's happy.

 

[josh_da_man27]

Superstition is a pretty interesting thing. I find it hard to determine whether an object or place can really be cursed or haunted or if they only appear that way because people who believe they are cursed or haunted keep watch for any negative circumstance that may happen while disregarding any positive circumstances.
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You can be a superhero too!
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[Kritish]

It would be so awesome to drive that cab.

 

[Drizzle]

Satan's cabbie.

 

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

There was already a thread on this before..

 

[The Last Meatbag]

I'd have fun driving that cab around on halloween

 

[DV8]

I can already see a USA original television show being developed around this

 

[lollycop]

Dumbest thing ever. But it would still be kinda scary driving that car.

 

[Kritish]

Damn it people, the whole 666 thing was created by a dude who was losing it on a desert island.

 

[Deep Thinkin'!]

drives me crazy when people freak out about 666. It's a number....

 

[josh_da_man27]

Well, it's not technically just a number. The Bible mentions it as the number of the Beast (Antichrist), an evil leader who will become a great leader during the Tribulation (seven years of plagues that Christians believe will happen in the future). For those who don't know, this is where the whole "666" idea began. Whether the number contains any evil beyond that is debatable.
_______________________________
You can be a superhero too!
http://www.mdls.bravehost.com/

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

times must've gotten tough for "the Beast" if he's driving a SF cab....

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

I'm so tired of idiots and their idiotic ways.

I'm, like, physically exhausted.....so draining.

6 is neat.
It's...half a dozen!
OH NoES!, you got 3 of them toGETHER!


Holy Jesus....

 

[ang_hulk]

well he could sell the medalion.it would sell good on ebay.