Word meanings

What does "permanent" mean to you? The license plate on first born's horse trailer bears only two things -- a number and the word permanent. No sticker.

Yesterday she was tooling down the freeway when she was stopped by the Highway Patrol. Apparently, permanent means "must be renewed every five years" in the State of California.

She refuses to think about when or if she received some reminder paperwork; it's too late now. I find it strange, however, that an officer had so much time on his hands, not chasing actual criminals, to fire up his computer, while driving and taking his eyes off the road, to verify that one trailer license had expired.

There will be a penalty, probably larger than the fee, because the state has decreed that schools must feed breakfast, lunch, and soon, dinner to the children of people all of whom do not necessarily fulfill their duties as parents. Not to mention those who have parlayed minor illnesses into months, sometimes years, of "disability" payments.

CORRECTION: Archie Panjabi is still #1 (ambiguous) sexy today.