License Plate Game
Playing the license plate game on any road trip was quite the ordeal. Most families spot license plates and write them down in a notebook. Kids look out the window, searching for that mysterious plate. You see the nearby states first, but get excited when Washington, Missouri, or North Dakota pass you by. You hope for Hawaii. That’s the golden one. How did the car get here?!
But Dad, you were the organized type. Why would we write down the license plates when we could simply have a pre-printed list of all 50 states and just cross them off when spotted? Genius! I am sure they have apps for this kind of thing now, but in 1991, pre-printing your list on Microsoft word was pretty advanced. I sometimes think that my love for efficient processes started with this method of tracking license plates. You saw a game and you found a way to make it easier and make it better.
Counting license plates was only part of the fun. We had several other bets for these car rides. We had to guess what type of artist was playing when we pulled into our destination. Choices were man, woman, ensemble, or show.
We also had to guess the time we would arrive, the temperature upon arrival, the last digit on the trip meter, the last digit on the odometer, and the number of roadkill. Dad, you might be wondering how I remembered all of the categories! I didn’t. I found one of the print outs in my scrapbook. Apparently each category was worth 5 points. And that summer, I was the winner.
Dad, I went to Charleston with Josh, Adela, Sung, and Uni back in November. We drove down. Can you believe it? It was a 13-hour trip and we stayed for 2 weeks. It was the safest way to get there since flying is still scary these days. Plus, we brought things like kettlebells and hand mixers, so a car was perfect. At one of the first rest stops, we saw a Huddle House. And I kept my composure, but I should have just let it all out and sobbed. You remember the time we had dinner there when I went to meet your Dad for the first time when I was 12? We had steak for $9.99. It wasn’t good, but I’ll never forget it. That trip we took together, just the 2 of us, has so many of my fondest memories of you. We had so many laughs and so many special moments, just us.
When I saw the Huddle House, I played out the scene as if you were alive. I would have texted you a picture of it. Or, I would have gone inside to see if I could buy some non food item and I would give it to you as a gift. I so cherish the moments we shared just the two of us, but I feel the burden of holding those memories alone. And if I forget them, who will remind me? That’s why I tell so many stories about you, so that other people know too.
So Dad, I didn’t count the roadkill down to Charleston. But we did see a decent amount. And every time I see a dead animal on the road, I say in my head “road kill!” in this particular sing-songy voice that we said it in. If seeing a dead raccoon on the side of the road makes me miss you, you can only imagine how much I miss you every day.
