We had a wide choice of registration plates
for our cars. They range from ‘In God We Trust’ to ‘Ducks Unlimited’.
There are many ‘In God We Trust’ plates in
use – in fact I think the majority of cars have these - so we would have fitted
in nicely.
There is the additional bonus that they
cost no more than the standard vanilla plates.
We also considered ‘Ducks Unlimited’. This
sounded like a nice environmental group – but we were not quite sure. When we
looked them up later on the Internet we discovered that they do have an
interest in the multiplication of ducks and the protection of their environment
– but only so that they can shoot them.
So in the end we settled on Heritage plates
– and made a contribution to the preservation of the State in which we live –
and parts of it certainly need some work.
Badger: You only landed in the USA quite recently, but you're already the owner of a historic house, you've attended July 4 celebrations and now you're driving around with heritage plates on your automobiles. When we compare those major steps with your recent relatively slow assimilation of Austrian culture (correct me if I'm wrong), I get the impression that you've stepped up your speed of progress amazingly.
ReplyDeleteI found these sample questions that you might have to answer when you finally get around to applying for US citizenship:
1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
2. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
3. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
4. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
5. There were 13 original states. Name three.
6. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
7. Who was the first President?
8. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
9. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
10. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
11. What is the supreme law of the land?
12. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
13. Name one branch or part of the government.
14. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?
15. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
16. Who makes federal laws?
17. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
18. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
19. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
20. What is the highest court in the United States?
Why don't you show us your spontaneous replies today (no cheating allowed)? That way, US friends will be able to see where your weaknesses lie (if any), and guide you along the noble path to Patriotism. Incidentally, I reckon you might have made a slight blunder in not choosing to declare publicly your trust in God... but you'll have time to right that wrong.
You could start a Ducks Unshooted organization. My friend Jesus recently left my main hangout, the local diner, and moved to a job at a veRy nice Japanese restaurant in Amarillo. I am planning on trying their duck meal neXt.
ReplyDeleteAfter a few years in Vienna where you behaved as a gentleman cat-carer and duck-watcher, is there anything wrong with the idea that you might become, in Indiana, a gentleman duck-shooter? You'll have to make decisions of this kind as soon as possible, because you risk being as bored as hell in the middle of Indianapolis. And that would be a terrible outcome... So, I vote in favor of your becoming a duck-shooter. It's probably great fun, and Americans would surely respect the presence of an Aussie hunter in their midst. Besides, you would have a regular supply of fine meat.
ReplyDeleteOh yea, those Ducks Unlimited guys have a huge banquet once a year with very expensive tickets. I know this because people in the automotive industry would try to hit me up for donations.
ReplyDeleteWilliam: I will not go public but will confess that my score was embarrassingly low. But I have bought a book on American history so will improve. And I have no intention of becoming an American citizen or of publicly declaring my trust in God.
ReplyDeleteesb: I fear there would be very few members in a State like this.
William: I confess that I do eat ducks - but I could never shoot one.
fmcgmccllc: It must be a fun group