Two middle-aged ladies were in front of us at Lion Country Safari:
Biden/Harris, Black Lives Matter, and Eat More Kale plus an Imagine there’s no hunger license plate (proceeds to the Florida Association of Food Banks). The “UU” sticker likely is for “Unitarian Universalism”, a pro-Palestinian church (settler colonialism by Jews in Israel is bad; settler colonialism in North America is not so bad that any Unitarian Universalist church needs to give back its land to the nearest Native Americans).
The next day, we found the “Prius Eater” in the Costco parking lot:
Through the window at Lion Country Safari:
The owners of both those vehicles are probably reprobates, but the owner of the Prius eating truck is probably more fun.
@Anonymous: sqrt(-1). I’ll guarantee it, but sometimes best in small doses. A different kind of people, but this is (also) America and they’re a lot of fun. See my comment below. I count Chris among my close friends.
@Anonymous: On second thought, I think it’s less likely that the people in the mud bog are reprobates. Most of them are hard-working people who like to blow off steam and don’t mind getting dirty while doing it. They may be “rough” but I think “reprobate” is much too pejorative. Most of the people at the Mud Bogs would not only help each other out in an emergency, they’d donate to their friends, including blood. And despite being packed together under tents with RVs in a mud bog, you’re probably safer from theft there than in a “community” of Prius owners, because I’ll guarantee a lot of them are armed as well, and would come to each other’s aid. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s how I remember things when I had some time to enjoy that scene. Great people, for the most part. Ran out of hot dogs or chicken for your BBQ? Just walk over to you pal’s camp, he’s got some and he’ll lend you a six-pack too if you need it. A lot of Prius owners will run you through the Filter System first and say from behind their screen doors: “Sorry, I’m out.”
Hybrids are evil. They need a Tesla to be compliant. Too bad there weren’t any lions in the lion safari.
I am deeply wounded! 😉 My Ford Escape Hybrid would be perfect for a Safari in Florida. It would putter around at low speeds most of the time pure EV mode, totally silent, only running the gasoline engine when needed – and the A/C is electric!
I wish I’d had a modern smartphone with a good camera more than 30 years ago when I visited Florida and blasted around in a friend’s supercharged + nitrous + lifted Ford Bronco with 36″ Monster Mudder tires. That Chevy’s a pretty fearsome truck but the Bronco eclipsed it. It was a nightmare machine. It was the Prius Wrecking Crew before Priuses existed. My friend Chris is a 6’6″ tall and he is a different breed of man, who manages to live among the rest of us with effort. He cleans up well and he’ll take you to a nice restaurant for dinner, but that’s not his natural habitat.
However, if/when the world ends and assuming I survive it, he’s one of the people I will seek out. I think his truck got 12-15 MPG driven very gently and around 5 MPG or less with the blower and nitrous in full song.
Florida Fo’Evah! Lol. [Aside: He spent a few years there painting houses and doing HVAC work. He was and is very competent and no-BS.] He is 1/2 Native American on his mother’s side, I do not recall the Tribal affiliation right now. He did not identify as a Native American, but he is much moreso genetically than Elizabeth Warren.
https://tinyurl.com/mr2dcjxx