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Nancy Dello Stritto says she couldn’t believe the license plate that arrived in the mail with her registration renewal
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- Nancy Dello Stritto said she was surprised when her new Florida license plate appeared to spell out a suggestive phrase
- The 76-year-old said she initially wanted the plate replaced, but many friends and family have urged her to keep it
- Broward County officials told CBS Miami they will replace any plate deemed offensive at no cost
Nancy Dello Stritto expected her latest vehicle registration renewal to be routine.
Like countless Florida drivers each year, the 76-year-old Pompano Beach resident opened the envelope expecting updated paperwork and a replacement license plate. Instead, she found a combination of letters and numbers she said she never imagined would end up on her car.
Her new plate read “SQZ A55” — a sequence that can be interpreted as spelling out a suggestive phrase.
The unexpected delivery quickly transformed Dello Stritto into the talk of her retirement community, according to CBS Miami.
“I don’t think a senior who is almost 77 will be driving around with a plate that has that to say,” Dello Stritto told the station. “When I saw that, I went ballistic. I said, ‘How could that pass inspection?’ ”
While the plate initially left her frustrated, many of the people around her had a very different reaction.
Rather than encouraging her to replace it, Dello Stritto said her neighbors have been amused by the accidental message, while her sons and their friends have urged her to keep the plate exactly as it is. In fact, she told CBS Miami the unofficial vote currently stands at 16-1 in favor of leaving it on her vehicle.
The unusual sequence also left Dello Stritto wondering how it made its way through the state’s approval process.
After the outlet contacted the Broward County Property Tax Collector’s Office, an office manager told the station that any license plate deemed offensive can be replaced free of charge at the county’s Plantation office. It remains unclear how Dello Stritto’s plate was issued in the first place.
For now, though, Dello Stritto isn’t rushing to swap it out.
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She told CBS Miami she still plans to notify the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles about the plate, but she’s also beginning to see the humor in the situation — especially after hearing so many people tell her she should embrace the unexpected conversation starter.
“I’m resigned to it; maybe it was destined for it to be on my car,” she told the station with a laugh. “I can handle it; maybe I’ll even get some honks.”
Read the original article on People
