The July license plate report is really late. Blame it on the sultry heat, political activities, and (of course) procrastination. Delaware finally showed up, but the encouraging score was Nebraska, one of the hard-to-get stack in the middle of the country. Nebraska is elusive enough that when I thought I spotted it — outside the Methodist parsonage in Oak Bluffs — I went back to check it out. It checked out. As of yesterday, in fact, it’s still there, so if you’re still looking for Nebraska . . .

At this point last year, I was still missing three from that mid-America stack — Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota — as well as Alaska, Idaho, and Alabama. So I’m running behind last year’s pace, which isn’t all that surprising given what COVID-19 continues to do both to the Vineyard’s summer season and to the country at large.

Late summer brings doldrums to the license plate game, and fall is even worse, but while at the hospital yesterday for a dental appointment I spotted Iowa and Kentucky. All is not lost!