Word Play

I have a rather unusual hobby. Maybe talent is as better word, because I don't work at it. Some of my friends think it's odd, even for me. I read license plates. Not the state names--the three letters. I'm not sure when this started. I do remember a couple of cars ago (that's a long time--we hang on to them) when I noticed that my new license plate, DGT, could be pronounced "digit." A friend's teenage daughter saw it and said "Dig it!" but it was "digit" to me. And it makes remembering your license plate easier. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out a cute way to remember the number. My next plate was FJX which had me stumped until one of my daughters, who's even more visual than I am, said, "This is going to sound weird, but I see 'Felix.'" I immediately understood that if you reversed the J, you got a sort-of L, clearly making Felix. I would notice the letters on the plate in front of me at a stop light and sometimes a word popped into my mind. It got to be a habit, especially if I were in the passenger seat and had time to look at passing cars. I want to emphasize that I don't work at this--it just happens. My current car came with a plate that starts KXE. "KXE?" I said to my husband. "What am I supposed to do with KXE--kickzee?" And it stuck. It doesn't mean a thing, but I can't forget it. Here are some of the plates I've seen recently: JLY--jelly, jolly GLK--good luck, or if you read too many mysteries, Glock KKB--kickback, kickball LKW--Lakawanna (town, railroad, military base) GHS--Genghis (as in Khan) ZKS--zooks (as in gadzooks) Try it ... you might like it!