42: The 402's Colorado Tragedy

402 = 42

In Japanese culture, the number 42 is considered unlucky because the numerals when pronounced separately—shi ni (four two)—sound like the word "death".

There are 42 questions asked of persons making their journey through Death. Ma'at, a female personification, considered to be both maternal and a delivering force, is an Ancient Egyptian personification of physical and moral law, order, and truth. In the judgment scene described in the Egyptian and the Book of Pass [the Book of the Dead (which evolved from the Coffin Texts and the Pyramid Texts)], there are 42 questions personifying the analysis of Ma'at. If the departed reasonably can give answers to the 42 questions, they have the potential to either be reincarnate, or if completely successful, reach the ultimate goal of becoming a Star, whereon, they can continue to give Light, and fuel Universal growth.

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, " Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything," calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is. Thus, to calculate the Ultimate Question, a special computer the size of a small planet was built from organic components and named "Earth." The Ultimate Question "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?" was found by Arthur Dent in the second book of the series, "The restaurant at the end of the Universe." This appeared first in the radio play and later in the novelization of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The fact that Adams named the episodes of the radio play "fits," the same archaic title for a chapter or section used by Lewis Carroll in "The Hunting of the Snark," suggests that Adams was influenced by Carroll's fascination with and frequent use of the number [42]. The fourth book in the series, the novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, contains 42 chapters. According to the novel Mostly Harmless, 42 is the street address of Stavromula Beta. In 1994 Adams created the 42 Puzzle, a game based on the number 42.

The 2011 book 42: Douglas Adams' Amazingly Accurate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything examines Adams' choice of the number 42 and also contains a compendium of some instances of the number in science, popular culture, and humor.

42 Minutes (podcast): Douglas Bolles and William Morgan host a lively weekly conversation in which they naturally discuss "the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything" with the interesting authors, thinkers, syncers and philosophers of our day. The show has its genesis in a series of discussions regarding The Sync Book, of which, both hosts are authors.

42 rears its ugly side:

"In keeping with your motif of Colorado and the Trinidad train-car accident, I notice that you did not post about this death last May 28 in Colorado, which occurred on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad about 100 miles NNW of Trinidad, Colorado," notes Tom Mellet.

"Train conductor's death devastating: 'Our hearts are broken'" CNN, May 29, 2016.

"Leslie Cacy, 28, fell off the back of the Royal Gorge Railroad train at around 5.30pm on Saturday [May 28, 2016] - just minutes before the end of her shift - and died instantly when she was run over," reports the Daily Mail.

Locomotive #402 becomes 42, as numerologists drop the zeroes in their analyses.

Passenger Cynthia Brier told of seeing the train's engineer in a state of shock shortly after tragedy struck. The train's number was 402.
See also, KKTV's report.

See Trinidad 33. Especially read the long comments sent in by the readers.

For other Trinidad, Colorado accidents, see here.

The history of the Royal Gorge route, which was revived in 1998, can be found here.

Trinidad 33

The Holy Trinity jumps to our consciousness from the Red (the meaning of Colorado).

An Amtrak train crashed in to a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country in Colorado on Sunday, June 26, 2016.

This tragedy must be pondered, as it occurred three miles from Trinidad, Colorado.  (Anyone know the name of the peak in the background here? Fishers Peak, answer my correspondents,)

3 + Trinity = 33

The van's right side was hit after it failed to yield the right of way to the train, Colorado State Patrol said in a news release.

The driver and four passengers were killed. One occupant was airlifted to Denver Hospital with injuries police described as serious. Six people. 

Investigators say the crash happened on Las Animas County Road 32, around three miles north of Trinidad. 9NEWS sister station KOAA-TV reports the parents who died were Christina and Steve Miller.  (Christina links to the "Christ" undercurrent here, of course.) Las Animas Road further plays into the religious theme: Las Animas means "the souls" or "the spirits," often referring to the dead in Purgatory.

Their children, Abigail, Kathryn and Ellianna also passed away. Four-year-old Heidi Miller was the only survivor. 

No train passengers or crew members were hurt.

Authorities said the van was not stopped on the railroad tracks.

The crash happened about three miles north of Trinidad, Colorado.

The town of Trinidad has had an underlying history linked to baseball and other sports.

Trinidad was first explored by Spanish and Mexican traders, who liked its proximity to the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded in 1862 soon after coal was discovered in the region. This led to an influx of immigrants, eager to capitalize on this important natural resource. By the late 1860s, the town had about 1,200 residents. Trinidad was officially incorporated in 1876, just a few months before Colorado became a state.  An important milestone for the town occurred in 1878, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached Trinidad, making it easier for goods to be shipped from distant locations. In the 1880s, Trinidad became home to a number of well-known people, including Bat Masterson, who briefly served as the town's marshal in 1882. By 1900, the population of Trinidad had grown to 7,500. It was now home to two English-language newspapers, and one that was published in Spanish.

In the early 1900s, Trinidad became nationally known for having the first woman sports editor of a newspaper, Ina Eloise Young. Her expertise was in baseball, and in 1908, she was the only woman sportswriter to cover the World Series. During the same period of time, Trinidad was also home to a popular semi-pro baseball team, which was briefly coached by Damon Runyon. Source.

The Legends of the West...The Wild West's Trinity, all with ties to Trinidad, Colorado, however brief.

The infamous Ludlow Massacre is also associated with Trinidad, Colorado. Many people died in the "massacre."

Trinidad is a Spanish name directly related to the "Holy Trinity." 

Trinidad is the larger and more populated of the two major islands that make up the island nation of "The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago." Trinidad is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km (6.8 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The original name for the island in the native Arawak language is "Iëre," believed to mean "Land of the Hummingbird." Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration. Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and is considered to be the birthplace of the steelpan (steel drum) musical instrument, limbo dancing, and the musical styles of calypso, soca, and chutney. Source.

Just in...

Italian actor, filmmaker Bud Spencer died at 86, on Monday, June 27, 2016. Often cast as a cowboy or policeman, one of Spencer's biggest successes included They Call Me Trinity, a parody of Spaghetti Western movies. 

For more on Tridents, see Symposium on Tridents, here.