WNDWATR

I have a license plate that reads WNDWATR. Over the years, people have stopped me in various places to ask if I’m a sailor. No, I assure them, I am a Feng Shui consultant. Some stare; some ask “What??!” The polite ones say “Oh.” Some say “I’ve heard of that” as they pick up the pace heading toward wherever they were going in the first place. One guy ventured to guess that I did fly-fishing. I don’t mind explaining my license plates, because, of course, why have them if I won’t take the time to explain them. But sometimes it just gets complicated.

The other day I was getting out of my car at the post office and an elderly man who I’m sure was in his 80's was unlocking his car door and saw my car (and the license plates). He smiled and said “What does your license plate stand for?” I had one of those immense moments when in the span of a nano-second I vacillated between saying “I don’t know, this isn’t my car” to “Why, Feng Shui, of course.” I presumed he wouldn’t have any idea what I was talking about and I’d have to go through a long explanation which may or may not matter in the end. I was on a tight schedule after all.

What the heck. “Wind and Water,” I declared. “It stands for Feng Shui.” His eyes lit up. “Feng Shui? I’ve heard of that----my daughter was just telling me about it the other day. It’s become pretty popular these days, hasn’t it? In fact, she’s got some books and was trying to Feng Shui (he said this with emphatic glee) my living room.” I assured him that was a small but valid part of what I do, but before I could get very far into my explanation, he launched into telling me how much he loved personal license plates and how he always tried to figure them out on his own. Then I heard some reasons why he actually didn’t have any on his own car. Then he expressed how excited he was to learn about a license plate that had some connection to HIM. He waved me off with a self-satisfied smile, but not before reassuring me WNDWATR was a very clever way of expressing Feng Shui.

I walked several steps toward the post office when I heard: “Have a Wind and Water day, young lady!” I smiled back at him and waved. I smiled all the while I was waiting in line to mail some packages, thinking about our conversation. I smiled at the postal clerk who gave me a suspicious squint of her eyes. I got back in my car still smiling. I thought about this man who proved me wrong----just because he’s elderly doesn’t mean he lives under a rock. I imagined he would go home and tell his daughter about the license plates with all the delight and innocence he expressed to me. He probably had no idea how he had touched me—it seemed like such an insignificant encounter. For the next few days, every time I looked at my license plates I thought about him and, sure enough, smiled. It didn’t hurt that he called me young lady.