Everyone has their favorite story to tell, and this is one of my favorite stories because it involves two things that are near and dear to my heart! Both are my passions...humor and creativity. There are times when I TRY to make somebody laugh...and, there are times when it just happens because of circumstances. This is one of those occasions... I do most of my walking/jogging at a local park, and I was just finishing up one sunny afternoon, and I was walking back to the car. On the way back, I noticed a man in a wheelchair heading in my direction. I was at the back of the car, with the trunk open, where I put my running shoes and sweats in the trunk. I noticed the man in the wheelchair approached me in a slow manner. When he got where I was, we exchanged pleasantries and he stopped to chat for a while. We talked for a few minutes, and then I noticed a big grin on his face. I had no idea what he was smiling about, as it must have been something I said was funny during our conversation. I noticed that he was looking at my license plate...pointed at it and said, "Your personalized license plate is funny! How did you come up with the idea for it?" My personalized license plate reads: "SLOWPOK." So, I explained to the man how it came about. The speed limit is 55 miles an hour in many places and being the good and model citizen that I am (yeah, right), I don't drive over the speed limit! But, there are the ever-present road hogs, who don't obey the laws and drive 65...75...85 miles an hour, and have no consideration for others! Anyway, I explained to the man, that because I'm a slow driver (model citizen), other drivers come up behind me and are impatient with me. They sometimes throw a fist or a finger my way or yell at me to speed it up, etc. They usually race around me like I'm standing still. You know the type...road hogs, with no respect for others! So, I told the man that...at the time...I already had a personalized license plate on my car, but that I didn't like. I wanted to change it, but I couldn't think of what to put in its place, etc. Personalized license plates can be tough to produce, because there are only seven letters or numbers (or less) allowed. So, to do this, takes a little thinking and effort. (And, that's one thing I've never done well...THINK) As I continued telling the man...I was driving along on the freeway one day, and there was a fellow driving a truck behind me, and he came right on top of my rear bumper! I thought he was going to hit me, and I was upset about it! I kept watching him in my rear-view mirror! I could see in his eyes the hate because I was going too slow! (you know the type) But, because I'm a model citizen, and never break the law (yeah, right), I shook a fist at him, and said, "Okay, so I'm a slowpok...why don't you just go around me, stupid!" After I said that to the other driver, I said to myself, "That's it...SLOWPOK...that's what I want on my license plate!" And, that's how the story came about! I told the man, that I had the license plate for about seven years, and I had a lot of fun with it. He continued to smile! It's my little disclaimer for rude and inconsiderate drivers! The road hogs see my license plate and race around me, etc. I've always loved personalized license plates, and the creativity and ingenuity that people display in them, and a few I can remember are: GOMPA; HOTDOG; LEMON; DOINOK; PAIDFOR, etc. The man was quite disabled...not only was he in a wheelchair, but his right arm seemed to be useless. There are some people on this Earth, who have been dealt a terrible hand in life, and this man is one of them! I feel sorry for them, and my heart goes out to this man! As we parted our ways, I wished him the best, as he then struggled across the parking lot. I've just glad I had a chance to put a smile on his face that afternoon. He made my day, and I hope I made his day as well. |
