September 2, 2021 – Dover, Delaware, USA
Travis Vance moved from Texas to Delaware. He missed Texas. He told the people in Delaware that Texas was the best state in America. He wore boots to show he was from Texas.
Travis needed new Delaware license plates for his truck. He had to go to the Delaware DMV office to get the plates. He waited in a long line. He met a man who told him about vanity license plates. Travis could choose the letters on his vanity license plates. He decided he wanted his plates to say TEXAS.
Travis talked to a woman working at the DMV office. She said he could not have the letters TEXAS on his license plate. A different person had already chosen those letters. She told Travis to pick new letters.
Travis could only pick seven letters to fit on his license plate. He picked the letters RAZNTXS. He thought people would think the letters meant “Raised in Texas.”
Travis’s new license plates arrived in the mail. He cleaned his pickup truck and then attached the new license plates. He wanted everyone to see how much he liked them. He wanted them to see he was raised in Texas.
Travis proudly drove his truck down the street. People passed by him and gave him strange looks. A person driving an Audi made a “thumbs down” sign. Another person drove by in a truck which had license plates from Texas. Travis thought the driver would like his new license plates with the letters RAZNTXS. The man in the truck shook his fist at Travis.
Travis could not understand why people were mad at him. He wanted to hide. He stopped at a restaurant to think and to eat lunch. While he was in the restaurant, more customers arrived. They laughed about the truck outside with funny license plates.
“The person who owns that truck loves taxes,” said one customer.
“No one loves taxes,” said another customer.
“The person who owns the truck does. The truck’s license plates say, ‘Raising Taxes’,” said the first customer.
Travis understood why people were mad at him on the street. They saw RAZNTXS on his license plates and thought it meant “Raising Taxes” instead of “Raised in Texas.” Travis felt embarrassed. He loved Texas. He did not love taxes. He needed a vanity license plate with more letters to make himself clear.
Travis drove home and removed his new license plates before anyone else could see them. He decided to trade them for regular license plates. He was bad at choosing his own letters.
For a more advanced version of the story click here: H8 MY PL8
Questions about the Story
Travis moved from Texas to what state?
Why did Travis go to the DMV office?
What letters did Travis choose for his license plate?
What happened when Travis drove his truck on the street?
Why did people hate Travis’s license plate?
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