Powered by American Electrons and Other Seattle Sightings

Something funny happened earlier this week, so I’ll keep this post short and sweet.

Guess who was parked in an adjacent spot as DH and I pulled into our neighborhood grocery store?  Now I’ll admit I wasn’t paying much attention at first since I was comfortably chilling (ok, ok, I was dozing) in the passenger seat, but DH nudged me awake as he pulled into our parking spot.

DH (excitedly): Hey, you’ll never guess… Check out who’s here!

Me (sleepy, now annoyed): Hm…?  Mmm… What?

DH (pointing to our right): Look, it’s HIM!  We’re parked right next to him!

Me (awake now and understanding): Oh no way!  My nemesis!  We probably live in the same neighborhood… We could be almost-neighbors!

We had managed to slide right next to the glorified electric golf cart that had swiftly cut me off twice almost a year ago.  The driver, whom I dubbed “Mr. Eco” because that’s what I *thought* his vanity plates read, was nowhere to be seen.  His car, on the other hand, was quite conspicuous.  And I stand corrected.  Apparently the vanity plates did not read “Mr. Eco,” but “ECO MAN.”  Even better.

Eco Man wasn’t nearby, so I didn’t see any harm in taking the opportunity to snap a few photos of his personalized electric-golf-cart-er-I-mean-car.  It was tiny, white-and-blue, and aggressively bespoke in proselytizing the virtues of the electric car.  I could tell Eco Man took a lot of pride in his customized wheels, especially as he made it a specific point to let the world know that his vehicle was “ELECTRIC” on at least 3 sides of his car.  And I didn’t think he’d mind me photographing his car because someone who goes to the trouble of customizing his vehicle to this degree and getting “ECO MAN” vanity plates obviously wants attention.

After taking a few pictures and circling the car, I came across two identical bumper-sized stickers that weren’t actually affixed to the bumper, since the words “ALL ELECTRIC” took up the entire rear bumper.  Instead the two bumper-sized stickers were noticeably affixed to the center of both sides of the rear passenger doors.  I hadn’t seen the stickers last year as I was waging road-rage war with Mr. Eco/Eco Man, but now I finally saw what the stickers read:

Of course!  Eco Man is a patriotic environmentalist who drives a 100% electric car that uses 100% American electrons.  Did I mention this is a Mitsubishi MiEV?

No matter, I had just experienced a typical Seattle moment.  After a hearty chuckle, I understood why Eco Man and I were both trying to take the same route last year.  He was probably in a rush to get home, just like me.  We’re almost-neighbors, or at least we shop in the same neighborhood market.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t have anything against electric cars.   I think they’re great.  But I am a little suspicious of people who are a bit over-zealous with bumper stickers, and doubly so if they are poor drivers or act like jerks on the road.

Now I’ve seen my fair share of hilarious bumper stickers living in Seattle.  There’s this classic that I’ve spotted but have failed to photograph live, which is probably a good thing since I’m driving:

All these quirky signs and bumper stickers got me thinking about other funny-but-typical sightings that give you a taste of the flavor of life in Seattle.  So here’s a glimpse into my ongoing collection of typical Seattle moments:

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to spy Eco Man in person on the way out from the grocery store, as the parking spot next to us was empty by the time we finished our shopping and returned to our car.  But I’m sure Eco Man and I will meet again on the road sometime soon.  After all, we’re probably almost-neighbors.

So until we meet again, safe driving to you.

May your Friday be More Awesome Than a Unicorn with Eye Lasers!