Alameda – International Destination
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If you follow my reports, then you know that my HC (human companion) had a partial knee replacement on February 24 and will be recovering for several weeks. Until he is back on full power, the only reporting I will be doing is from my backyard. More importantly, I will be spending more time with him for moral support.
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We are now at the end of Week One, and he has been using an automatic knee-bending machine to minimize scarring and an ice therapy unit to control swelling. He started physical therapy on Tuesday and has been bouncing around on crutches. He’s still not ready to walk comfortably unaided, let alone have a 90-pound German Shepherd that reacts to other dogs, cats, and, of course, squirrels, pulling him around. After all, it was a squirrel that got him into this mess to begin with.
Since he is my editor, publisher, and transportation coordinator for getting around the city, I will not be able to cover Alameda’s goings-on until he can walk on his own without assistance. He was thinking he would be back on the street in two weeks, but all the docs and PT folks are saying six to eight weeks. Anyway, rather than hit the “paws” button for several weeks, I have put together some “evergreen” reports, which means they could be run anytime. So you can still get a weekly dose of the Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda until I can get back out.
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As a general rule, I try to get out five or six times a day, rain or shine, and cover one to two miles per walk. During these walks, I get a chance to see more things than most people can from a car. As part of my reporting assignment, I decided to start noting vehicle license plates. In the beginning, I was looking for vanity plates, but it quickly evolved into recording the state that the car was registered in.
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Based on a year of observations, I can attest to the fact that Alameda is not only a national destination, but also an international destination. Check out the British Columbia (Canada) and Sonora (Mexico) plates.
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Another rarity was the U.S. Consul plate issued by the U.S. Department of State. So far, I have seen 28 state license plates including California.
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I put together a pop quiz to test your knowledge of license plate mottos and slogans. The answers are below my signature.
- What makes Arkansas “The Natural State,” and why is there a diamond image on the plate?
- If the U.S. Constitution was originally signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, why does Connecticut call itself the “Constitution State?”
- Here’s an easy one. Why is Illinois called “The Land of Lincoln?”
- Which two states feature the Wright Brothers’ airplane on their plates? Do you know why?
- True or False: Was there an attempt to change the Kentucky motto from “Unbridled Spirit” to “Kentucky Kicks Ass?”
- FOR ATTORNEYS ONLY: What’s the story behind the motto “VIRGINIA IS FOR LO❤️ERS.”?
Good luck with the quiz.
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected] [13]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/ [14]. All photos and videos by Jeff Cambra.
Answers to the quiz:
- According to AmericaExplained.org, Arkansas is called “The Natural State” because it has vast wilderness, natural resources, and diverse wildlife throughout the state. From Answers.com, there is a volcanic pipe in Crater of Diamonds State Park that erupted kimberlite which contained diamonds. This is the only known occurrence of diamonds in the contiguous 48 United States.
- In 1959, the Connecticut General Assembly voted to establish the “Constitution State” as the state’s official nickname based on its colonial history and the fact that a 1639 document known as the Fundamental Orders is recognized by many historians as one of the first written constitutions of a democratic government.
- Did you say that Illinois was the birth state of Abraham Lincoln? Sorry, that’s not correct. Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, in 1809. Illinois is called the “Land of Lincoln” because it was the state where he started his political career, first in the state’s General Assembly and then in the U. S. House of Representatives.
- Both Ohio and North Carolina feature the Wright Brothers’ airplane on their plates. Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio, and both of the brothers grew up there, where they had a successful printing business. From Britannica.com: “Realizing that Dayton, with its relatively low winds and flat terrain, was not the ideal place to conduct aeronautical experiments, they selected Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, which offered high average winds, tall flat dunes from which to glide off, and soft sand for landings.”
- TRUE. Check it out on YouTube [15]. [15]
- If you said that the slogan is a reference to the United States Supreme Court’s 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage, you would be wrong, just like my HC. The slogan was originated by David Martin and George Woltz after winning the contract from the State of Virginia to create a marketing campaign to promote the state’s history, mountains, and wilderness.