Our vanity plates…
The end of a very special Vanity Plate Week.
Our hopes.
Our fears. (Via Amy.)
Our loves. (Via Amy.)
Our realities.
Some people have asked me this week if I have vanity plates. I don't.
I don't even know what my tag says. Can never remember the whole thing. There's a J, either an X or a V, maybe a U, three numbers, and possibly another letter. Upon going out to the car last month to get the tag for a form, I think I remember finding another letter and being surprised. What that letter is, or whether it exists at all, who knows.
Although it would help with memory, I could never get a vanity plate. Whatever plate I got, I would hate its permanence the next day and want to change it immediately. This is also why I don't have tattoos. Each of us meets The Other in strange places. Like on car bumpers.
But to go on…
Who we are.
Who we are, more literally. (Via Amy.)
Who we are, more admittedly. (Via Sarah.)
Where we are.
Where we want to go.
Why we want to go. (Via Tracie.)
According to a man who wrote an entire book on them, vanity plates are an American invention. Pennsylvania created the first in 1931. You could get your initials on a plate. Connecticut soon followed, allowing four letters of your choosing. Every dollar helped states stay afloat.
Today, the United States has more than nine million, and I think I see most of them in the county parking lot I cross on the way to work each morning. I'm amused to see them and thankful for the amusement. I'm glad so many of you feel the same. To everyone who sent photos and helped make this Vanity Plate Week come to life, you are awesome.
For now, there's no need to send any more. I'm going to take a vanity-plate break for a while. It's spring and time to look up at the trees and blue sky. The plates aren't going anywhere and aren't going to mind.
But to go on…
How we live. (Via Sheri.)
For whom we live.
And, you know… it's fun. (Via Jeff.)
Happy Vanity Plate Week, everyone.
April 16th, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Hi
My dad wants to know how he could get a contract to make North Carolina Vanity Plates?
April 16th, 2011 at 4:27 PM
Hi Barry, I'm afraid I don't! But you might start with NCDOT and particularly the DMV's Special License Unit. (Sounds like CSI, right?) Thanks for visiting. Good luck to your dad!