Crazy plates

I don’t know how much the average person spends waiting in line in their lifetime, but it’s got to add up.

I’ve waited 15 minutes in line at the treasurer’s office to downgrade my license plate. And I’ve waited 45 minutes in line at In-N-Out in Colorado Springs for a perfectly OK burger.

Sometimes, there are things that are worth waiting in line for.

For the last eight years, I had been waiting for Feb. 2: the day that reserve plates went on sale to the general public.

A lot of people have moved to Campbell County since the last time this happened. And there are people who’ve lived here for decades who didn’t know this was a thing. But to make a short story even shorter, each county has a certain number of reserve plates available. In Campbell County, it’s Nos. 1-2500. And every eight years, reserve plates that have not been renewed go up for sale.

And every eight years, dozens of people will wait in line, sometimes overnight, to get these plates.

Ever since I first experienced this tradition in 2018, I was looking forward to it happening again. I didn’t know if I would still be in Gillette the next time the reserve plate rush came around, but as fate would have it, I got a second opportunity to write about it.

I remember talking to two high school boys who were paid $50 to wait in line for their bus driver. If that happened today, they would’ve asked for at least $100, because of inflation.

This time around, there were people waiting outside the courthouse on Feb. 1, a Sunday morning. And don’t worry, I asked and they all said they had already gone to church before they grabbed a spot in line.

Weirdly enough, I ran into three of them soon after that day, one at a track meet, one at the courthouse and one over the phone, and they told me they were pleased with the numbers they got.

With the reserve plates, it’s all about local history. The lower your number, the longer your family has been in Campbell County. It’s a testament to longevity, to dedication, to staying in Gillette through all the ups and downs. That’s not to say that this makes you better than everyone else.

I dream of a world where people are judged on the content of their character and not by the number on their license plate.

There’s just something so interesting about this experience. Any visitor to Wyoming would be perplexed. Is it illogical to wait 20 hours for a chance at a three-digit license plate? To put it simply, yes. When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy.

But in the Internet age, where we can get things instantly, there is a value in waiting in line for things. It’s strangers spending time with other strangers over a common goal. It’s part of being human. This is what separates us from the animals.

But these plates, and our obsession over them, is what makes Wyoming unique.