VP 72

Driving on my way home from work on Route 66, I saw a personalized license plate that read "VP 72."

My first thought was, "Sargent Shriver?" He had run for Vice President in 1972. But knowing his current condition and public persona, it didn't make much sense, particularly because he was on the losing ticket.

Perhaps it was Spiro Agnew, who was Vice President in 1972. But I was pretty sure Spiro Agnew was dead. I drove by the car and got a good look at the man. He had a distinguished, weathered looking face with a tamed shock of white hair.

When I got home, I looked up information on Spiro Agnew. He has been dead for years, but the man in the car very much resembled the picture of Spiro Agnew that I saw. I learned that Agnew had a son named Randy, who would be in his 60s, well within the plausible age range of the man in the "VP 72" car.

So it is quite possible that I drove past Spiro Agnew's son, which, if true, would be the highlight of my life to this point and probably from here on out. But several questions remain. Spiro Agnew was elected Vice President in 1968. Why would Randy single out his father's second election? Perhaps his sister had dibs on "VP 68." Why would he choose his father's victory to display on his license plate? His father resigned in disgrace just a year later, was it an act of irony on Randy's part? Also, why was he driving so slowly in the second to left lane? Move over, buddy. Sheesh.

A less-likely possibility is that Vladimir Putin was driving the car. Born in 1952, it's possible that he graduated college in 1972 and he feels that accomplishment is most worthy of memorializing on a license plate. But the man in the car didn't look like Putin, except that they are both white. Putin's grandfather was named Spiridon and his nickname could very well have been Spiro. Coincidence? Almost certainly. Spiridon Putin was allegedly Joseph Stalin's personal cook.