What's in your rearview mirror?

I feel like I've been through a lot of cars - and while I haven't owned most of the cars I've driven, I have personalized them. In high school it was parking passes. 1 for work, 1 for school, and 1 for another school. In college it was more parking passes, 1 for work, 1 for school, 1 for the street, 1 for my neighborhood (which in all fairness was the same as school, but in Salt Lake you have to have a pass to park ANYWHERE). Somewhere along the way I collected a shell necklace like the kind from Hawaii - in fact it might even be from Hawaii, I don't know where it came from, but it's been hanging from my rear view mirror for at least 3 years - possibly more.

When Josh started working for Redbox they gave him an ugly redbox license plate holder thing that I refuse to put on my car because it would be acknowledging that we live in "the redbox car".

He also started eating at McDonalds an awful lot, and for a while got addicted to kids meals. During that phase he once gave me a little-tiny-kids-meal-sized-teddy-bear that has a bib on it. We decided it was a baby bear and it reminds me that me and Josh will have babies together someday. I stuffed that above my rear view mirror about a year ago and it's still there. For a while there was a pirate thing on which Josh wrote "arg. I love you" with a bic pen. But that has somehow disappeared. The rest of my car is pretty normal I think. Other than the zillions of DVDs and boxes in it 99% of the time.

You know how when you stop at a red light sometimes your head is connected to your brake foot and it automatically turns to look at the person in the car next to you? Like you need to know your surroundings - is this a "race off the white line" kind of red light neighbor? Or a "don't look because I'm picking my nose" red light neighbor? In the morning I see a lot of "zoned out" red light neighbors and I immediately change lanes to get as far away from those as possible. There is of course the "I'm in a hurry so get the HECK outta my way!" red light neighbor easily identified by the tapping of the steering wheel, inching forward, and constant looking around at all of the other lights to watch for the yellow signaling her green coming up. My favorite neighbor is the "rocking out" red light neighbor, and for that reason alone, I often try to be that neighbor I love so dearly.

Today on our way to work, we stopped at a red light (yes, we usually do stop at red lights, but sometimes we don't so I had to clarify.) and Josh looked over at the car next to us. Presumabley to check out our neighbor. He started laughing, did a double take, and then let me in on the joke.
"Is that a.....what are those things called?.......garter?" He laughed
"A garter? Yeah right. Where?" I mumbled as I looked pulling myself out of my trance. "oh my gosh it is!"
"Isn't that what the guys catch at a wedding?" he asked. Proving yet again that he didn't spend the first 21 years of his life watching other people's weddings and planning his.
"Yes. That is what some people choose to throw at their wedding for the guys to catch." I answered. "But I bet that the nice lady driving that car didn't catch it at a wedding."

Now I see a lot of funny bumper stickers, pictures, and words on cars, but I truly think that this if the first time I've seen a garter hanging from someone's rear view mirror. It made me think....if you parked your normal-looking car in the parking lot at a mall, and couldn't remember where it was, and went out to find it, I bet that the simple "personalization" would ensure you wouldn't stick your key in the wrong car.

Generally the things I see hanging from cars are practical. I write myself notes in my car all the time so I won't forget something - perhaps it was acting as a reminder. It couldn't been sentimental. Maybe a dare. Perhaps even placed there for the entertainment value of the "nosey red light neighbors". I guess I'll never know, but I sure laughed this morning. Thanks garter lady!