http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/METRO/606070371/1003
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
It's a busy day in Hell
They party like Hell on 6-6-6
10,000 horn in on tiny town to celebrate
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
HELL -- The once-in-a-lifetime date of 6/6/06, numbers symbolic with
Satan, overwhelmed Hell with the largest party the hamlet has ever seen.
A crowd of about 10,000 flooded the town near Pinckney, which normally
accommodates 72 residents, said unofficial Mayor John Colone.
He came up with the idea for a celebration two weeks ago.
The media frenzy earlier in the week created too much temptation to pass
up the event, even if it was associated with the Antichrist and the end
of the world.
"It was an impulse decision. I thought this would be the place to be on
6/6/6," said Brandon Sturm, 26, of Holland.
Hell is used to the attention: The town attracts about 50,000 tourists a
year, many at Halloween.
Partiers packed into the quarter-mile commercial stretch made up of
three small businesses. The roar of Harley-Davidsons accompanied the
sounds of SUVs and cars as they crawled along the two-lane road into
town. Some wore red horns or dressed in black for the occasion.
One couple came to renew their wedding vows.
Rick and Sandi Phillips of Brighton celebrating their 26th anniversary,
insisting theirs was not a marriage made in hell.
But, Sandi said, "we can say we've been to Hell and back."
Cody Page, 26, of Nashville, Mich., learned about the festivities while
watching CNN on Tuesday morning and convinced two friends to come along.
"I just told them we have something crazy we're going to do," he said.
Official "I celebrated 6-6-6 in Hell" T-shirts were sold out by the
afternoon, and more were being back-ordered, Colone said.
"We've sold well over 3,000 T-shirts and mugs. On Monday, people were
saying our Web site was down, but we found out we had to increase space
because we already had 2,000 orders," he said.
T-shirt sales were about $1,000 every 12 minutes.
Since word spread over the weekend, Colone and his wife, Ann, have been
fielding calls from media from across the country and around the globe,
including Israel, India and Australia, which celebrated June 6 on
Monday.
Kurt Perron of Toronto drove his hearse, called "Possessed," to the Hell
festivities. He was one of several members of the Graveyard Haulers, a
club for those who collect and rebuild hearses.
The only clash was between an evangelical group and a group of Michigan
atheists.
"There's no point arguing with them," said Mark Farris of Monroe, an
atheist who came dressed as Moses. "If the world doesn't come to an end
by today, they'll be disappointed."
Freelancer Phil Foley contributed to this report. You can reach Valerie
Olander at (517) 552-5503 or
© 2006 The Detroit News
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Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
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