Delaware Punch Drunk

I'm still in Seine after all these years. By now I've learned that Delawareans can be as wacky as people in Berkeley or Hollywood or Austin. Did you know that at restaurants here the customers aren't expected to ask for Coke, Pepsi, or 7-Up but for Delaware Punch? And that citizens here can, and many do, bid at public auctions on their license plates for their vehicles? Because of the fact that Delaware was the first colony to achieve statehood, locals want their plates to have the least numerals possible---i.e., as close to "1" ("First in the Nation")---as possible. So some of them spend tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars for sparse-looking plates on their cars.

I too joined the license frenzy. Armed with the book, "How To Win at Auctions," I attended my first public bidding session (I was simply assigned by first plate by the state). I think I was very successful, as I didn't have to pay too much. My new plate number is 673426.