503-531

“Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.” (Psalm 148:3)

I have a “cool” license plate number on my 1989 Volkswagen Golf.  It’s Massachusetts # 280.  My father, the late Eugene A. Baril, was presented Massachusetts plate #280 shortly after he retired as a Supervisor of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles after a distinguished career in law enforcement.  I have the letter from former Registrar Mackey which expresses the gratitude of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for his service and presents him with the plate.  It was a privilege to inherit both the car and the license plate number in 2000.

I also have another license plate which is “cool” to me.  It’s Massachusetts # 503-531. It’s from the old “green on white” plate series which dates from the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Only about 10% of vehicles registered in Massachusetts still have plates from that old “greenie” series.  The RMV is actually encouraging people to turn them in because many are in poor condition and becoming difficult to read.  503-531 is “cool” to me because my wife and I have had it continuously since early 1983...for 25 years!  It was brand new when we purchased a slightly used 1982 Ford Escort hatchback from Jack Madden Ford in early 1983.  The plate was later on a 1982 AMC Concord station wagon (NOT a good car) and then spent 8 years on a 1986 Plymouth Caravelle 4-door sedan which we purchased in 1988.  For awhile it was on a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon, and for the past ten years, it’s been on a 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon.  Our ‘93 has got major mechanical problems and 179,000 miles on the odometer.  We are junking it.

This week, we bought a 2000 Saturn SL1 4-door sedan.  Dirty with the paint cracking (but still legible) 503-531 is now on the Saturn.  Although the Saturn is owned by Mary Ann and I, 90% of its use will be by our daughter Rachel.  When she gets out of college in a couple of years, I’ll make arrangements to either give Rachel the car or sell it to her for a nominal figure and she’ll get a new registration at that time.  (Incidentally, Mary Ann drives a nice 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan so please don’t think she’s being short changed in all this!)

Mary Ann was pregnant with Jon our oldest when we got plate number 503-531 in early 1983.  Twenty-five years later, our 21-year-old is driving a car with the exact same license plate on it.  Pretty cool, huh?