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So this RV with French license plates pulls into the parking lot at the Saugus WalMart ...
By adamg on Sun, 06/05/2016 - 10:42pm
And Neal Gaffey is there to capture it.
UPDATE: Gerald Burke alerts us that the "CH" on the plate means the RV is really Swiss.
UPDATE UPDATE: Neal volleys that the RV is, in fact, from France (see the comments below).
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Comments
Why in the name of E.B. White's ambulatory zombie
Why do writers and speakers feel compelled to begin a perfectly good and complete statement with an unnecessary 'so'?
Strunck and White's Elements
Strunck and White's Elements of Style is a guide on writing, not speaking. And it's just that, a guide. It would be best not to harangue people speaking extemporaneously without parsimony, citing the Elements.
Many jokes begin in the "So..." format, which Adam is emulating here. I love the Elements as much as anyone who appreciates good writing, but there are reasons to break rules sometimes.
Thanks
Yes, I was emulating the "So a rabbi, a priest and a minister walk into a bar" construction.
And yes, I realize that a) It's played out and not necessarily appropriate here since there's no punch line and b) It would work just as well without starting with "So." Dare I add "So sue me"?
And, yes, I realize that last sentence should have the question mark within the quotation marks, but I put it outside because it makes it seem like "So sue me" is a question, when it isn't.
And now, of course, I feel like I'm doing a pale imitation of the opening credits of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail:"
So, there was a spate of articles about this a few years ago
So, it's kind of, like, a trend. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/us/22iht-currents.html or http://www.npr.org/2015/09/03/432732859/so-whats-the-big-deal-with-start....
But, also, it's the traditional start to many jokes. Or at least, shaggy dog tales.
So, there's that.
maybe from Saint-Pierre or Miquelon?
which are French islands just off the coast of Newfoundland. However, Wikipedia says the ferries to there carry only passengers, not cars.
Doubtful
I don't think someone on Saint-Pierre or Miquelon would go through the trouble of registering an RV on the islands, which are very small, only to go through the trouble of bring it across to Newfound, in order to roam the North American mainland. If I lived there and wanted an RV, I'd just purchase and register an RV in Newfoundland.
There is a map in the back of the RV
While not exactly to scale, it appears to show a route from France to South America. Most likely French Guiana which is an overseas department of France and just as French as Paris.
Probably drove north from there.
Darien Gap
There is no way to drive from South America to North America.
Oh contraire....
though it is correct there are no roads from South America to North America only because of the Panama Canal. There are auto ferry's that will take people around that as some people do go from South America to Central America with their vehicles. It is actually possible to bring a vehicle from South America to North America.
There are road bridges across the Panama Canal
Two of them, with a third under construction. The canal is not what prevents people from driving cars between Colombia and Panama.
no
The Darién Gap is a lot bigger and more treacherous.
Boat
There are a lot of different boat options for bypassing the Darien Gap, so it's not impossible at all...just not a "road" per se.
okay
That isn't what was argued. The poster said it was "only because of the Panama Canal". The Panama Canal has nothing to do with the accessibility of South America from Central America and vice versa.
Not only because of the Panama Canal
The bit of Panama near the border with Columbia is rather undeveloped with difficult terrain and doesn't have roads through it. Maybe there are still ferries, I don't know, but it's a bit of a further trip than just across the canal.
If they managed to get from France to South America
I'm sure they could manage to get from Columbia to Panama in a similar fashion.
All the information you need is right here.
http://www.drivetheamericas.com/wiki/vehicle-shipping-across-darien-gap
European registrations...
Are not too uncommon out West. Several weeks ago, I was in Death Valley and saw at least one French and one German registered camper driving through the park (the French ones tend to be like the one at the Walmart, truck-like and pretty much able to handle any terrain, whereas the German ones I saw were more similar to what we see here). After leaving Death Valley, I drove to Palm Springs and saw several more RVs with European registrations somewhere in or near the Mojave National Preserve. I do know that the US has reciprocal treaties with most European countries, which recognizes car registrations in each others's countries -it's far more common to see US registered cars in Europe that the other way around...
They are missing a North East
They are missing a North East sticker on the map in the back. Now I am curious if the Walmart run was to get a sticker from the Saugus Walmart for the world map on the back!
Walmart and RVs
RV camping in Walmart parking lots is a commonplace thing - I guess they heard about it in France too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/us/rv-owners-skip-camp-and-park-at-wal...
I hate Wal-Mart
But that they open their parking to RVs overnight without questions (including electricity hookups in many locations) is something I've always liked about the Waltons.
It is a very smart and savy
It is a very smart and savy business move. If you are traveling in an RV you do not have a ton of space so you are going to be buying things on almost every stop. By allowing them to park in the parking lot they get all those purchases. Plus when I spent a few summers in NH I was honestly always impressed by the spectacle they created in the corner of the parking lot they were assigned to. It added to the "experience" for me as someone from Boston before we had any Walmarts.
Re: UPDATE
Not in this case. Barely visible on the left side of the plate is the blue EU flag with F, indicating it is a French registration (Switzerland is not part of the EU, so they don't have EU plates there). The French plate numbering scheme is AB-123-CD. With another blue field on the right with a coat of arms with numbers underneath to the département where the vehicle is registered. The number 65 on this plate indicates that it was registered in Hautes-Pyrénées.
Well, then ...
I will switch that durn headline right back!
France used to have a
France used to have a numbering scheme where the registration number included the number of the département, which meant that people had to get a new registration number when they moved to a different département. A few years ago, they changed it to the generic numbering scheme described above, and the new registration number is supposed to remain the same during a vehicle's lifetime. After protests of people who wanted to keep their regional identity on the number plates, as a compromise they allowed the blue stripe on the right with the logo and number of the département, but it's not part of the official registration and you can pick whichever département you like. It could be the département where the vehicle was initially registered, but it could also be the département where you grew up or have any other emotional attachment...
Update re: UPDATE
Definitely French, given away by the white oval with F in it in the lower right. There's also another F for France sticker with the la tricolore. Swiss plates do not include CH/the Blue EU band on the left.
Edit to add: plate look sold enough for the number in the right to indicate the départment of origin, in this case 65 = Haute-Pyrénées (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hautes-Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es)
Edit because it took me forever to type on my phone: see above.
The "90" in the lower left
means that the vehicle or car/trailer combination is subject to a speed limit of 90 km/h, or about 56mph. Such signs with various speed limits are common on trailers, buses, and large trucks elsewhere in the world. Most countries, you can be ticketed for exceeding that limit regardless of the posted limit on the road.