Wapsi Square Forum

[quote="jwhouk"]Ooh, I just noticed something AmJim... It's missing one very important thing, though I'm not sure it shows up on personalized plates: The state silhouette.

Considering vanity plates are allowed 7 charcters (GLDNEYE is legal) they may not if it's a complete word - and that coint could be stretched to fit Jim's work, perhaps?

Fixed it:

The image identified as the personalized allowed for seven characters, hence no silhouette.
TX personalized allow for six, default is no silhouette, but you can request a silhouette or hyphen in addition to the six.

AmriloJim wrote:The image identified as the personalized allowed for seven characters, hence no silhouette.
TX personalized allow for six, default is no silhouette, but you can request a silhouette or hyphen in addition to the six.

It's been a while since I've seen a MN plate, and longer than that a personalized one, so I can't say yea or nay as to whether the state silhouette is there or not.

jwhouk wrote:It's been a while since I've seen a MN plate, and longer than that a personalized one, so I can't say yea or nay as to whether the state silhouette is there or not.

Same here.

MN DPS wrote:Personalized plates are available with the standard plate background for Passenger Automobiles and Pick-Up Trucks with up to seven (7) characters (including spaces) total. A character is an upper-case letter, space, hyphen, or number.

Motorcycles, Mopeds, One-Ton Pickups and Self Propelled Recreational Vehicles are limited to six (6) characters.

The Personalized vertical motorcycle plate is limited to four (4) characters.

All personalized plate choices must include at least one alpha character.

Emphasis mine... but I think there's the definitive answer; no mention of a silhouette.

And now, to tie things into the main story...

---

AHI Night with the Wild was looking like a success. Al had Arania work with Buck's HR department to coordinate things with the local NHL team, and a couple of party suites were easy to procure.

Ari really didn't know when it had started, but she'd gotten hooked on the game. Thinking about it, she realized it was after she'd seen a "beer league" match with some of the guys from the plant, taking on a group from a bar in West Saint Paul. There was so much hitting and speed and banging and crashing… and it was amazing, but she picked up the nuances of the game quickly.

As she munched on some of the BBQ ribs from the spread, she mingled a bit in the hallway outside the suite proper, where the Xcel Energy Center staff had set up the special buffet for AHI/RE guests. She'd attended a pre-season game in September, and when she heard that AHI had an outing planned for later in the year, she begged Al to get the RE plant people on board with it.

The guys in the plant were gung-ho about it – they'd snapped up all 20 tickets after the announcement was made. Al, however, had begged off for the game; he and Daisy had finally decided to take another trip across the pond to London and its environs for the weekend. However, he'd found someone who was more than happy to use their tickets for the game.

She'd wondered a bit at who Al would know that liked hockey. Greg and Annie didn't seem to be the type that would enjoy the game. Nor did Neil, nor any of the parade of paras and other assorted beings that occasionally wandered through Building 2.

Maybe it's just someone he knows from somewhere, she thought as she wolfed down another plate of the ribs.

---

"Wow, the Club Level?" Sarah asked me as she looked at the ticket I handed her.

"Yeah. I think AHI has a marketing deal with the Wild, and this was one of their games for employee appreciation."

"So Al gave you the tickets?"

"Well, of course. He knows very well who I root for." The club level had a coat check, and after removing my cell phone from my coat pocket, I shed it to hand to the attendant.

"Oooh, pretty bold move there, wearing enemy colors," she said, commenting at my Predators jersey.

"Been a fan longer than the Wild have been around," I explained. "By the way, I'm looking for the AHI Group Outing?"

"Oh, I think they're meeting outside C6 – other side of the arena, near center ice," she explained.

I nodded and smiled in thanks. Sarah was wearing my Western All-Star jersey from 2004, while I had on my Preds road sweater. I got a few looks – deservedly, as the Preds were on a bit of a losing streak at the time – but I wasn't going to let it bother me.

"Is there going to be anyone we know here for this?" Sarah asked as we headed off around the concourse.

"Besides the guys on the ice?" I replied with a smile. "I think Buck might show up – though I'd heard something about Rowdy being here with a date…"

We got to the south concourse, outside the section where we were sitting. There was a sign around a cordoned-off area along the concourse:

WELCOME AHI/RE NIGHT AT THE WILD

Unfortunately, that was the only thing that indicated we were in the right area. I didn't recognize a single person. The usher allowed us into the cordoned-off area with a flash of our tickets, and handed us both vouchers for the buffet – but other than that, no one.

"Maybe they're running late, or something?" Sarah queried. I shrugged.

"Let's just go see what they have at the buffet," I said – before running into a blonde woman with a plate of ribs on them.

"HEY!" she shouted as I tried to avoid getting barbecue sauce on my sweater. "WATCH WHERE…" She caught herself, even as I was trying to grab a napkin to clean myself up. "Oh my… you… you were at the wedding…"

I stopped wiping the sauce for a moment and looked at her.

"Uh, do I… know you?" I asked tentatively.

Before she could reply a server from the arena catering staff came over and offered a few wet naps to aid in my cleanup. I nodded in thanks, and managed to get the rest of the sauce off my sweater.

"Doesn't look like there's any permanent damage," I stated. "A friend of mine gave this sweater to me. I don't think she'd be happy to find out someone spilled on it." I finally looked at the woman.

She had, for some unknown reason, frozen up in what almost appeared to be complete terror. The plate of ribs she had carried were being picked up by arena staff, and a few people in the hospitality area where the AHI event was taking place were looking at her.

One of them, a slightly older woman, finally nudged her: "Ari? Is everything okay?" The blonde girl finally looked down, and apparently shook herself out of the sudden fugue.

"Oh, uh, yeah, just dropped my plate," she said. "Uh, thanks, Constance. Uh…" She took a peek at me, then looked back down at the floor. "I need to go refill my plate, can you make sure these two know what the plans are for tonight?" The girl quickly removed herself from the scene – and, if I didn't miss my guess, she booked for the bathroom.

I turned to the older woman, and gave a gentle half-smile and a small wave. "Uh, hi. We're friends of Mr. Richer and Mr. Alexander?"

"Oh, yes – Buck told me to expect a couple of Predators fans," she chuckled. "Constance Smith. I'm the head of AHI's personnel department here in the Twin Cities. I work for both Buck and Al – though, sadly, neither will be here tonight."

"Aw," I said. "I knew about Al, but what happened with Buck?"

"His eldest daughter had some school event that he needed to attend," she replied. "But, he did tell me to make sure you enjoyed yourself – as much, of course, as you can enjoy rooting for the opposing team, I guess," she chuckled.

"I'm used to it," I told her. "I've been to Pred games at the UC down in Chicago. It's worth it."

"Well – help yourself to the buffet, the drinks are over there; if you're interested, there is a wet cash bar over on the other side…"

Fascinating!

And we see, yet again, that the sentencing is still in effect, whereas she freezes when anything to do with the Library or anyone who was there for the wedding is concerned. Will that ever fade off, now that she is changed?

I was also wondering if we ever will see the other two sisters again... Last I remember, they were chased off the edge of the Alexander's property by Safyr's familiar... Will they always keep blaming others for their misfortunes? Will they ever catch a break? Will they ever even try to make a better life for themselves (and to better themselves, in the process)?

The "actual" version of TROA has been modified and posted - with the small change as to the placement of AHI's headquarters in Minnetonka.

PDF version
DOCX version

She's got a Mustang,
It'll do 80...

jwhouk wrote:She's got a Mustang,
It'll do 80...

Nice, but odd: a one-seater mustang?

lake_wrangler wrote:

jwhouk wrote:She's got a Mustang,
It'll do 80...

Nice, but odd: a one-seater mustang?

It's LEGO, whatcha 'spect.

jwhouk wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote:

jwhouk wrote:She's got a Mustang,
It'll do 80...

Nice, but odd: a one-seater mustang?

It's LEGO, whatcha 'spect.

Apparently, a lot more than that...

Approximately twice as much. Or four times, depending on how you are multiplying... By volume or by dimension or by seats?

WARNING - THREAD NECROMANCY IN PROGRESS ... WARNING - THREAD NECROMANCY IN PROGRESS

Just finished reading this again, six years after it first posted. It still brought tears to my eyes, at times.

BTW, the link to the PDF used earlier still works, but the one used on this page no longer does. It says we need to ask permission from the owner, first... And neither the PDF nor the DOCX include the post-epilogue hockey game scene.

And the links to the LEGO Mustang no longer work.

That’s on me for using Google Drive. Links are fine for me, but apparently only for me.