By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO, Calif.— Our Jewish license plate collection
has officially gone coast-to-coast, national, continental. To our seven
samples, to date, from California, we now add one from Florida. By rules
of alphabetization, this Jewish message goes first, in fact. A Mensch
means that the person who drives this car is an upright, outstanding person; a
role model; a credit to the community, someone who is kind, gentle,
philanthropic, and, of course, modest.
We thank Bruce Lowitt for sending in the Florida plate, which is interesting
in its design. Beneath the letters of A Mensch, or the letters
and numbers that appear on standard-issue plates, is the outline of the State
of Florida, which looks something like a bent knee getting ready to kick Al
Gore right out of the 2000 presidential race.
There are two oranges as well, a tribute to that state's citrus industry.
(Whenever Californians visit Florida, someone there asks us to sample their
orange juice versus California's. When we drink it politely, they ask
insistently, "well, well, orange y'all gonna say something?"
We'd say your oranges are tastier, but that would be pulp fiction.).
There's an example of blatant boosterism on the Florida license plate—the
claim to be the "Sunshine State." Yeah, like when you're not
having hurricanes, you mean.
The combination of all three elements—the unusual shape of the state, the
oranges, and the promise of sunshine— is meant to induce you to check out
the state's tourism-promoting website, listed at the top of the plate:
myflorida.com,
However, when you get to the website, you may think it looks like it was
designed by government committee. In Florida's defense, the state really
is much prettier than that!
Anyway, below is our growing collection. Please send in examples of
Jewish plates from your state to sdheritage@cox.net,
and we'll post them. Might even write an essay about them.
P.S. We're only teasing about Florida; it's a wonderful place to
visit.
Yiddish: Upright, outstanding
person Yididish: For you, only good
Hebrew: In
peace
Yiddish: Grandma
Yiddish: Grandma
2
Yiddish: Woe is me,
mom
Biblical: A life as long as Moses'
Yiddish: Grandpa