That’s Three Letter Acronyms

Part of the reason I moved to Colorado was for their sweet license plates. The gorgeous yet simple white mountains on green sky design is fabulous. I soon learned that even better than the design is the content. Colorado plates consist of 3 numbers followed by 3 letters. You may not realize this, but if you combine any 3 random letters you’re very likely to spell a word or at least make a familiar acronym. Driving around town, I’m often left chuckling at the plates some people end up with. These TLA’s can take on all sorts of meanings from hilarious (LOL) to frustrated (OMD) to exasperated (WTF). They can be toasty (HOT), cold (ICY), tall (MTN), small (TOT), affirmative (YEA), negatory (NIX), racy (TNA), divine (GOD), animalic (ASS), anime (DBZ), offended (HEY), welcoming (HEY), delicious (HAY), Yoko (ONO), and noisy (YIP).

Long I have awaited the day when I would join the ranks of those clever fellows with accidental words on their plates. That day was today. After yet another exceptionally pleasant trip to the Colorado motor vehicles department (I spent a grand total of 3 minutes inside) I was walking out with my own set of CO plates. Was I going to get something cool like ACE or DOG or CAR, or would I end up with something I’m ashamed to put on my car like FAG or LUV? Or, worst of all, I could get something totally meaningless like KKN.

The tension was high when I returned to my car and opened up my new plates. Before me I found:

Victory! What a glorious day! Not only am I in love with Pam (Beasley), but pam is also a non-stick spray! Its an acronym for Portland Art Museum, Pluggable Authentication Modules, and Prediction Analysis Microarrays. AND, if you read it backwards, it spells MAP!!! Finally, I can rest soundly at night knowing that my car is well-decorated in the traditional Colorado style; hilarity.

Soundtrack: The Beatles – Polythene Pam