681ZPR

You may recall my September 3 rant against dove hunting in Iowa and how I was going to turn in my Natural Resources license plate in protest. I've had this same license plate for around twenty years. It's been on three different cars of mine. I'm fond of it. But it's also getting worn out.
So when I went to the courthouse to vote I stopped at the Treasurer's office and asked what my license plate number would be if I just got a regular plate. She showed me: 681ZPR. I came home and told Bud, "I don't want a ZPR license plate. That would make my number zipper something. I don't want a zipper license plate.

Of course that got me thinking about zippers and when I used to sew. I always had so much trouble putting zippers in. I got better at it over the years, but they were always a pain. I knew I still had a couple unused zippers in my sewing box. Actually there were three - two still in their original packaging. The misty spruce colored one I gave a nickel for at a garage sale. The ecru Flex Zip in the middle was 89 cents at Target. The brown one was lying loose in the sewing tin. Remember when zippers came in the little round plastic containers? This Coats and Clark zipper was 50 cents new. I think new zippers are in the $2 to $3 range now.

My Mom was a true daughter of the depression. She saved everything that could possibly be reused - including zippers. When a piece of clothing finally wore out, before she turned it into rags, the buttons and/or zippers were removed and saved.
Another family member took Mom's sewing machine, but I kept Grandma Bessie's treadle sewing machine which Mom still had. I couldn't remember if there was anything in the drawers but when I looked, guess what? Thirteen zippers - only one or two of which looked like they hadn't been used. The round Coats and Clark zipper container was in the drawer, too. I just used it in both photos to show both sides.
Speaking of Grandma Bessie, I can remember at least once when a zipper in one of Dad's chore coats broke. Mom took the zipper out of another old coat and took it and Dad's coat into Grandma's for her to replace the zipper. That's what you used to do. You didn't just go buy a new coat because the zipper broke.

I have tried to figure out what the license plate numbers might be if I wait as long as possible, which with my birth date would be the end of December, to see if there might be something I found more acceptable. After the zpr's there would be zps-t-u-v-x-y-zpz. For sure I don't want ZPY. That would make me think of Zippy the Monkey.

So, maybe I'll just keep my Natural Resources plate another year. After all, the dove hunting bill has already passed into law. From the expense side of things, changing plates would save the extra $25 of the renewal fee which goes to the Natural Resources program. But this year's renewal is already $40 less than last year's, so I'm ahead of the game from that standpoint.
Too bad I couldn't have kept Bud's old license plate number when he got his new personalized Bronze Star plate. That number was 500TYC - very easy to remember. I could either think of toys, TYCO, or yogurt, TCBY, or clocks, TYC-TOC, or Truly Yours Charlie, or Time You Cease (trying to be funny)...........