Sometimes I see a car with bumper stickers that make me want to meet the owner. Actually it happens quite a bit, probably because I have a pretty wide range of interests and also someone else’s enthusiasm for something can really interest me. At least I’ve come to realize it’s the people who interest me, not necessarily the thing they’re interested in. I once spent two hours talking to a retired railroad worker and I was absolutely fascinated the whole time. I like trains and I think they’re interesting but I wasn’t inspired to quit my job and pursue a career in the railroad industry, or even take up trains as a hobby. It was really his stories and the way he told them that interested me.
Most of the really interesting bumper stickers I see are on moving vehicles so I don’t really have any chance to talk to the driver—they’re usually in another lane and even if they’re going the same direction I am they almost always turn at some point. I don’t think there’s ever been an occasion when someone in front of me with a really fun bumper sticker and I ever went to the same place and even if we did I can’t imagine any way that, once we’d parked, getting out and yelling something like, “Hey, I understood that reference!” would go well.
I also see a lot of cars with fun bumper stickers in parking lots and when I was at the store the other day I was really, really, really interested in meeting the driver of the car two spaces over from where I’d parked who was really into frogs. And a fan of Dolly Parton. I’m tempted to add, “but who isn’t?” even though I did have an aunt who hated Dolly Parton. I never did find out why because I wasn’t interested in asking. My parents lived two doors down from Dolly–which is interesting because of her song “Two Doors Down” and became good friends with her husband They moved before I was born, but I don’t think my aunt was aware of that.
I think I saw the driver of the frog car, which was a new experience for me. What are the odds we’d both be in the parking lot at the same time? The green shirt and the green-framed glasses made me think it must be the driver and I really wanted to ask them about their interest in Anura. Are they a biologist? Or just someone who really likes frogs? Either would be cool. But there was enough distance between us that I couldn’t think of any way walking over to them or yelling something like “I will always love frogs!” would go well even if they did understand the reference.
I’m very interested in bumper stickers, too, and often take photos of them with my phone, which I put in my blog. No one has ever caught me taking a picture of their bumper stickers, but if they did, I hope we could have a good conversation about it.
ANN J KOPLOW recently posted…Day 4102: Personal bests
Because I notice bumper stickers I seem to see the same ones multiple times, but I don’t really notice cars so I can’t tell if it’s the same car each time. One of these days, though, I hope, like you, that I’ll be able to have a nice conversation with someone about their interesting bumper stickers.
My favorite bumper sticker for a long time was “Quit Your Meanness”. I think people who go all in on their stickers want you to ask.
Allison recently posted…Fire Away
I feel like I’ve seen the “Quit Your Meanness” bumper sticker, maybe even the same driver. I also think people who go all in on bumper stickers want to be asked but I also want to respect someone’s time if they’re in a hurry. Most people don’t want to hang around a grocery store parking lot.