# Fate guides me through bumper stickers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2004, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135 "2004-05-02T10:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/1 "2004-05-02T10:50:17Z")
Yesterday morning was quite surreal. I’m driving to work, in somewhat of a, well, not really bad mood, just kind of on the ugly side of being a little bit homesick and missing a lot of stuff I used to do (weekend drives to Canada, stuff like that). Just kind of that blue funk - well beyond aquamarine, more of a teal with a bit of turquoise, but not quite navy. That kind of blue funk. So I’m driving along, musing to my self and feeling rather blah, when I look over to the left lane, and there is a magnetic sign on the back of a pick-up truck, advertising a family deli, not too far from where I live. Regular sized lettering, no graphics, company name, address, phone number, and the magic word: Spiedies. I immediately grabbed the cell phone (Please note, I never do this while driving, but I did not want to lose the number or the name, and my notebook was in the backseat), popped in the name and number of the company (and actually had to do it all over again, since I tried putting the number in the name section of the phone book and it made no sense at all). About a mile later (traffic was slow and steady that morning - Fate must have slowed down the traffic so I could get the number in safely (we were tooling along at 55 and then dropped significantly). Got the info in the phone and pulled even to the truck (I was just off the bumper so I could get the info), stopped next to the truck at the traffic light and finally got the driver’s attention. “Spiedies?” “Yes.” “Real Spiedies?” “Yes.” “Binghamton?” “Endicott.” “Real upstate New York Spiedies?” “Yup.” “Cool. I am heading there tomorrow for dinner.” (Of course, this is the emotionless exchange, lacking the joy, exuberance, and woohoo-ing that accompanied my side of the conversation.) I thanked the driver, mentioned that I had missed upstate New York cuisine (again, add lots of ebulient gushing and gratitude), and continued on my way. [SFX: cue “Twilight Zone” theme, building in gradual intensity] I continue on my way, cheerful that I now have a source for my main addicition. (Did I mention I am a Spiedie lover? And that the last Speidie foray ended in disappontment and near-despair? - I burned them on the grill.) A few miles later, I am near to work, in a considerably better mood, definitely important to my work. I get off the interstate and wait at a traffic light, ready to turn left, about two miles from work. I am sitting behind a white “Pepsi” van, and the car next to me is blue. The light changes, I turn left, and as I turn the corner to go under the bridge, I glanced at my watch for a split second. When I look up again, I realized the Pepsi van is not in front of me. I look around, it is nowhere to be found anywhere on the road (there was a traffic light on the other side of the bridge, and it could not have run the light since there had been traffic ahead of it. I swear the van had utterly disappeared. The van was replaced by a car. Small car. With a bumper sticker. “I brake for vanishing hitchhikers - [snopes.com](http://snopes.com)” Holy $@\*%ing irony!!! I finally caught up to the car, pulled along side and asked where they got the sticker (last I knew, Snopes did not sell bumperstickers). The driver said it was custom made, his wife worked with the website or message boards or something. I couldn’t talk for long, since Fate had increased the noise from the construction site and had now sped up the traffic, and people get a bit antsy when would hold up the flow. So suffice to say, the day went better, and Fate guided me away from being involved in a three-car crash on the road home (the car who cut me off was not so lucky, and ended up plowing into the stopped traffic - I would have been the one to hit the the other cars if that …jerk… had not cut me off and I slammed on the brakes, giving me enough room to stop farther back from the accident). His bumpersticker? “Don’t like how I drive? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT!” Heh. Eat muffler, more like it. ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/2 "2004-05-02T10:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > His bumpersticker? > > “Don’t like how I drive? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT!” Did you put THAT number in your phone too? 😃 No, seriously, that’s a cool story. I love when this kinda stuff happens… really makes ya wonder, don’t it? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/3 "2004-05-02T13:53:11Z")
When I’m driving & I see an phone# I want to remember, I just dial the phone, hit “talk” and then immediately hit “end”. The number ends up in the “outgoing calls” list in the phone & I can retreive it from there & save it permanently when I’m done driving. And by hitting “end” just a couple seconds after hitting “talk”, I’m not billed for anything and their phone never rings. Nobody knows but me & my phone. That’s a LOT easier (& safer) than trying to type a name into the phonebook feature while driving. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/4 "2004-05-02T14:01:29Z")
Chayzez, I never thought about using “talk/end”. I was just so happy to see a favorite item, I never thought about that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/5 "2004-05-03T06:44:11Z")
What are spiedies? Never heard of one. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/6 "2004-05-03T07:07:28Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > What are spiedies? Never heard of one. Neither had I until I read this thread. As [rhis site](http://www.spiedies.com/what.htm) explains: “Spiedies, (pronounced “speedies”), are marinated cubes of meat cooked on a skewer.” Apparently the Broome County area of New York is the only part of the USA in which the delicacy has caught on. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/7 "2004-05-03T12:35:03Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Neither had I until I read this thread. As [rhis site](http://www.spiedies.com/what.htm) explains: “Spiedies, (pronounced “speedies”), are marinated cubes of meat cooked on a skewer.” Apparently the Broome County area of New York is the only part of the USA in which the delicacy has caught on. So it’s what, shishkabob for people who don’t like veggies? ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/8 "2004-05-03T13:44:45Z")
You’re a spiedie addict? I think I love you. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/9 "2004-05-03T18:12:13Z")
> [@screech-owl](#): > > “I brake for vanishing hitchhikers - [snopes.com](http://snopes.com)” Love it! They should also have one that says something like “Lose Kidneys Now - Ask Me How!” ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/10 "2004-05-03T22:30:06Z")
[hijack] I saw in Office Depot the other day that you can buy the stuff to make you’re own customized stickers. I known a few I’d like to make but probably not appropriate to post here. 😃 [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/11 "2004-05-03T23:08:36Z")
[screeching halt] > [@harmless](#): > > [hijack] I saw in Office Depot the other day that you can buy the stuff to make you’re own customized stickers. I known a few I’d like to make but probably not appropriate to post here. 😃 [/hijack] WHICH DEPARTMENT?!?! WHAT ARE THEY?!?! WHAT DO THEY COST?!?! Sorry, calming breath. I have been trying to find some stuff to make my own bumperstickers. I want to remake my “Born-Again Reincarnationist” and others, but most of the places around here want at least a couple of dozen of the same item. There was a place somewhere in a mall above Albany (NY), but I have no idea what the name of the mall or the store is. And **Exgineer** , _spiedie addict_ does not even begin to describe it. I am more than 1,000 miles from real spiedies. I have found “State Fair Spiedie Marinade” in a local grocery store, but it’s just not the same. I am about ready to make a road trip up to New York just for the spiedies. And the salt potatoes. And the grape pie. And conies. [/screeching halt] Ahem, I think that Straight Dope needs bumper stickers. T-shirts tend to get a bit, um, ‘distorted’ on my physique. And the coffee mug handle breaks (all too easily, I found out). ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fate-guides-me-through-bumper-stickers/243135/12 "2004-05-04T18:50:13Z")
> [@screech-owl](#): > > [screeching halt] > > WHICH DEPARTMENT?!?! WHAT ARE THEY?!?! WHAT DO THEY COST?!?! > > Sorry, calming breath. > [/screeching halt] SKKUUUUUUUURTT! Oh! In the paper section. Under where you buy the do-it-yourself business cards. 10-20 buckola’s.