For 6

The "bachelor's" degree in college
springs from the Medieval baccalarius,
I'm told--someone low on the feudal
food-chain. After I earned it, I thought
I might go to law school, but my score
on the law-school admission exam was...
666. I took this as a revelation that law
might make me evil. So I entered
the hell of getting a doctorate in English.

I always thought of 6 as a friendly number--
not so edgy as 5, less slick than 7, more droll
than 4 or 8. I developed intuitive
relationships with numbers and days
of the week, nothing to do with math
or work. I hate gambling on any day.
To me it denotes "losing," and
casinos are beastly.

Whoever wrote the Book of Revelations:
a little manic, maybe? Too many numbers
for me, and horsemen and The Beast,
seals, and the anti-Christ: exhausting. Led
to too many bad horror movies (but to be
fair, also Bergman's The Seventh Seal,
which I view primarily as a comedy).

As to the Anti-Christ: too many suspects,
past and present.

6, I love you, Baby, more than three times.

hans ostrom 2022