OUR PECCADILLOES
As members of the human race, sometimes our imperfections make us more lovable than our
best attributes. I found that many people are quite happy to share their little lapses
with anyone who wants to read about them on their vanity plates.
MOV OVR 1 (move over one), on a silver Chevrolet SS, tells a little about Ms. M.F.
Gricius. She says, "Bottom line - Move over one 'moma' coming through". She said
that this plate is appropriate and fitting for the personality and the mindset of the
driver. I would suggest that if you are in the left lane and you see Ms. Gricius in your
rear view mirror, you take her advice. She sounds serious.
The black 1991 Corvette belonging to twenty-four year old Dave Hartman has essentially the
same message. It has the Illinois plates OTA MY WA (out of my way). Dave says it means
look out, I want to get through. With that Corvette, I bet it doesn't take him long to get
past.
IAML8 (I am late) says it all. Yours truly, your traveling expert, ferreted out this rare
plate find on a recent trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. These Kentucky plates are on Michael
Wayne Phillips' red Honda Prelude. Michael is a 22 year old who admits that nine times out
of ten, if he's in the car going somewhere, he's late. It doesn't matter where he's going
- his girlfriend's, work, a lunch engagement - he's probably late. He said, "Just ask
anyone who knows me". He pointed out that it also explains to other people on the
highway why he is driving at speeds up to mach 40!
Back in Chicago, I found ONTYME (on time) on Ed Horak's wife's white 1992 Mustang. He has
ALWYSL8 (always late) on his. It seems that she is always on time, but he is always late.
FREVRL8 (forever late) is on a blue Toyota Previa belonging to Sandra Hammontree. Sandra
says she too is always late...just like Ed and Michael.
WER AM I (where am I) on the Ohio plates on the 1993 black Mustang belonging to Ryan Gough
tell the whole story. He said that he gets lost pretty often. He chose this license
because he doesn't know where he is most of the time. I wonder if that makes him late a
lot like Michael, Ed and Sandra?
Shirley's blue Ford Tempo has MIXTUP 2 (mixed up too) on her Illinois plates. Shirley said
she is just as confused as everyone else. Her son has WARPT 2 (warped too) and it
describes his sense of humor. Shirley said everyone needs a sense of humor to help you get
through everything.
GETACLU (get a clue) is the choice of Jennifer Cozzitorto. She has it on her red Pontiac
Grand Am. She said everybody kept telling her to get a clue so she put it on her license
plate. A business associate of mine, Joe Proctor, found this terrific plate for us.
Twenty-one year old Tracy F. Gengler has AIRHED 7 (air head seven) on her dark purple
Chevrolet Beretta Z26. She chose the plate because she thinks it's cute. She said she can
be an airhead. She just admits it more that other people.
Do you remember the scene in "Mr. Mom" where Michael Keaton, who is
impersonating an electrician, is asked by his wife's boss, "Is that a 220
line?". Michael Keaton, as the self-appointed, completely uninformed, expert
electrician, said, "Two twenty, two twenty-one, whatever it takes." Well, that
scene reminds me of the situation that I found myself in outside the Dayton Mall in
Dayton, Ohio one evening.
I saw the plates FLY 749 on a white Buick Century. I said, "I'll bet that car belongs
to a flight attendant on a 747". I guessed that the person had asked for FLY 747, and
gotten FLY 748 or FLY 749, whatever it takes.
Not so. Catherine Wohlrab wrote to me and said that the license had no meaning whatsoever.
It was given to her out of pure coincidence! Her parents were given FEY, and they would
have received FLY if they were ahead of her in line. She just happened to go first and she
got FLY 749.
So why, you ask, is she in the book at all? It's because we self-appointed experts are
quite arbitrary and capricious, and I decided to include her story. Besides, she wrote me
a nice two-page letter and she managed to come up with a connection to the license that
she didn't select.
She wrote (in part):
"I was amused as well as inquisitive when I found your card on my dashboard at the
Dayton Mall. At first I wondered, why would this man want to know this kind of thing? But
as I thought about it, driving home, I realized that there is sociological significance to
researching it.
I have never been in a book before...I received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree on
June 9, 1979, and I have been a practicing Registered Nurse since then. I now work in a
Convalescent Center, as it is the only type of nursing I like. ...
Interestingly ...I am terrified of flying. I flew twice in my entire life and will never
fly again. I also have vivid dreams about major airline jets crashing very close to me -
but I always get away soon enough not to get hurt.
I will always remember a story about a man who lived in Poland all his life and all his
family moved to the U.S.A.. He wanted to move to the U.S.A. to be near his loved ones - he
was not a young man. But, for years and years he was terrified of flying and would not get
on a plane. After much coaxing and reassurance by his family (I think all daughters) he
was finally convinced, but with reservations. It took years to be convinced to fly to the
U.S.A. So when all his moving arrangements were made, he boarded a major airline jet bound
for the U.S.A. The plane took off, but there was extreme trouble with the plane. The plane
crashed in less than three minutes, and all aboard were killed instantly.
Good luck with your book
Sincerely,
FLY 749
Ms. 'I'll never, ever, fly again.' "
The thirty-nine year old woman with the Nissan Maxima with DLICAT 1 (delicate one) said
that she was the youngest of five children and the only girl. Of course she was a little
overprotected by everyone, but especially by her father. Consequently, whenever she was
teased or "roughed up" by her older brothers, they were always reminded to leave
her alone, because she was delicate. As she grew older and wiser, she knew just how to get
"the boys" in trouble! This has always been sort of a joke (the fact that she is
so delicate) so her husband thought it appropriate that she have DLICAT 1 as her license.
Fifty year old Gay Gelman has a pearl grey 1994 Toyota Camry with HAPBDAY ("Happy
birthday to me") on it.
She had a traumatic birthday when she was young. The trauma had to do with the gift of a
car. The car was canceled because of a fight with her parents. She hated all her birthdays
since. Then she bought her own car for her birthday. She says it was very healing.
The fifty year old woman with RELAX 40 on her burgundy Taurus said her kids are always
telling her to relax. Finally she told them she would put it on her car. The forty just
happened to be the next available number. That means that there are at least thirty-nine
other people that either want to relax or want everyone else to relax. In this uptight
world, I think that is good advice.
USOBER 2 (Are you sober too?) is on the Illinois plates belonging to Allisa. She has a
1990 white Dodge Daytona. She is twenty-seven years old and she has a hopeful message for
all people. She said that after a battle with an addiction she is five-and-a-half years
sober and sobriety is very important to her.
Not only does she boast her sobriety on the plate, but it's a message to all drivers. If
they answer "No" to her question "Are you sober too?", then they
should ask themselves what they're doing behind the wheel of an automobile.
BRAT 575 is on a 1993 Hyundai Exel that belongs to nineteen year old Margret. She said all
her friends call her a "Brat"; she must not mind it. She was born on May 7,
1975, so the 575 represents her birthday.
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