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…

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

I don't know what the above plate means. My friend Andrea has sent it to me from South Florida, and she has no idea either, which matters.

While this Vanity Plate Week is all about what our license plates mean, sometimes you see a plate and just don't know. Most plates are like this, really. You see one, try to figure it out, fail, and think. Someone's last name? A nickname? An abbreviation from another profession? Or are they random letters that look like they comprise a word but don't?

The brain power I've lost on futile plate figuring, it concerns me.

In some cases, maybe plates are words. But they're words that make no sense as to why anyone would want them on plates. These plates are known only to their creators. In this post, we salute those plates, the ones we understand but don't understand at all. Friend Tom has sent me two bunches this week, all of which fall into that category.

In a way, every vanity plate is odd. But these plates all rank high on the oddness scale. The fact that Tom sees them everyday makes me both jealous and afraid of his commute. Thank you, Tom, for sharing.

As good a place as any to start.

More combining animals and a way of life. (Can I be TGR JRNO?)

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

Question twist: If God were one of us… would God have vanity plates?

One of my all-time favorites. Whether religious or secular, great.

A day of rest… or Ozzy Osbourne?

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

Here in our nation's capital, politics are everywhere, even in plates.

First, you have to be a certain type of person. (Via Lisa.)

Then you need to make a public leap into the issues. (Via Lisa.)

… The schools. (Via Melissa.)

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

You can never accuse vanity plate owners of restraint…

Cats, the obvious love-too-much choice. But Catsby! Fantastic plate.

On the other hand — Elmo? Really? And why 88?

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

Lust, romance, trouble. With vanity plates, it's the same old story.

Via Melissa.

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

Richard Scarry taught us many things. Like how daily life is great.

Via Joanne. Washington says hello!

And lock up your stereo.

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

It's gray and rainy outside this morning! Vanity plates to the rescue.

Straight-forward happiness.

Relaxed happiness.

Sappy happiness.

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A very special Vanity Plate Week presentation. (Why?)

We sin! And then we talk about it on our vanity plates.

Greed. (Via Melissa.)

Lust.

Envy. (Via Melissa.)

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You've seen the promos on the bottom third of your screen. You've seen the Twitter campaign. You've seen the giant inflatable vanity plate on the side of our skyscraper. It's time for Vanity Plate Week!

Yes, for this week, this blog will go all vanity plate all the time. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll wonder about the mental states of the people who own these vanity plates — and kinda wish you owned some too.

Why now? This blog has been fascinated with vanity plates for years, and a considerable number of friends have joined in the photographic pursuit. Since the last round-ups, vanity-plate life lessons and a vanity-plate Thanksgiving, life has become busier and months have passed.

But the plates have continued to pour in, and on my way around town I've been capturing my share. So, these photos from friend Melissa and myself kick us off now. To catch up — the only possible way to catch up — we must pause, acknowledge and celebrate for an entire week how