Back in 2003, the State of Ohio issued a license plate to commemorate the state’s bicentennial. The red, white and blue design featured the Bicentennial Commission’s logo and included the phrase “Birthplace of Aviation.”

I bought a car that year and got one of these license plates. And I have transferred it, year after year, car after car, for all these years. I eventually grew attached to the number but could never manage to get replacements ordered in a timely fashion. 

Some might call it procrastination but that sounds like a harsh word. Ha! The fact it went on annually for well over a decade makes it sound even worse. 

When I bought White Lightning last year, it was well past shabby and moving into junky but I wasn’t about to buy new plates when I had literally just renewed my registration. 

This year was different as I jumped on my registration reminder as soon as it arrived, logged into their website, and with the two clicks it took to make a purchase with my mobile wallet, I had ordered new plates with my old plate number. The shiny new one just arrived and is now on my car! It features sunrise in Ohio with the Wright Flyer headed toward the sun.

This is a silly story, isn’t it? 

Those old plates have been on a few cars and have traveled many miles through ten or eleven states and the District of Columbia. They’ve seen me down quiet country roads, busy highways and some treacherous situations but they’ve always brought me safely home. 

Maybe that’s not so silly after all.