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Formerly the BACK BUMPER
Collecting Ontario licence plates for 41 years
2CENTS ARCHIVES
First started as "My 2 Cents" in 1997, I have written posts numbering into the hundreds. New posts arrive continually. Find an article by clicking the tag cloud below, or selecting a category, doing a search (see magnifying glass below on the right), or just scroll down to see the articles in chronological order.
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Acton '24 and Afterward
Saturday was Acton-packed, let me tell you. I woke up in Milton, spent five hours in Acton, drove to Brantford, Took a coffee break in...
Apr 28, 2024
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Acton at Centre Ice
The Acton meet came full circle this year—and my, how things have changed. The inaugural Acton swap meet, now 20 years ago, happened on...
May 3, 2023
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Making the 2023 Ontario Souvenir Plates
It was a summer afternoon in 2022: I found myself at the town park in sleepy Rossmore, Ontario, swapping plates with Dave Steckley and...
Apr 2, 2023
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Acton & Stirling '22: Back in the Saddle
Thirty months. It sounds like a jail sentence. But that’s how long it’s been… Thirty long months since our last indoor swap meet in...
May 6, 2022
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Acton meet cancelled: COVID-19
The 2020 Acton licence plate swap meet is cancelled because of the COVID-19 emergency. Read on about COVID-19 (I'm a biology teacher).
Mar 28, 2020
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The Long Road to Acton 2019
The best kind of road trip involves a proper balance of driving, nice weather, good food, laughs, and of course, finding licence plates...
May 5, 2019
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Amigos in Acton
I always know it’s been a great #Acton trip when I spend a week recovering before I have the energy to write about what a great trip it...
May 6, 2018
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Acton up
My trip to #Acton this year was a little abbreviated. I always hope to rise early on the Saturday and take my time checking out junk...
May 4, 2017
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Auction in Acton
If it feels good, do it. And if it works well, do it again. That was the theme for this year’s #Acton journey. Last year, before the...
Apr 30, 2016
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Acton 2015
The winter of 2014-15, unbelievably, was even colder than the year before. It took a lot of mental energy to cope, but we’re finally...
Apr 28, 2015
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Acton in the arena
#Acton in the spring… the trees are still bare. The snow is gone. The sun is out (usually). The air is cool. And the plates? Don’t get me...
May 5, 2014
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½ Acton
Spring is here—it’s a beautiful sunny day, the windows are open, birds are singing, leaves are sprouting, and I’m leaving to get my ’71...
May 7, 2013
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These magic moments
For the past couple of years, when Eric and I have gone to the Acton swap meet together, we’ve planned out a unique route and left early...
May 19, 2012
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Twofer one
The annual Acton swap meet has usually been held during the third weekend in April, but for this year, its ninth, the date was changed to...
May 12, 2011
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Plates and parenting in Acton
This year, I brought my daughter to the Acton swap meet— a compromise to avoid leaving my wife at home with a nursing infant as well as...
Apr 25, 2010
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Old antiques a man alone can entertain
I was stoked, stoked, stoked to go to Acton this year. I had about the busiest winter of plate collecting ever, having bought three big...
Apr 26, 2009
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Crap we like
Eric and I rolled into the Acton Arena parking lot early this year… possibly too early, given that it was 7:15. We wanted to have our...
Apr 25, 2008
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Acton and Actinolite
I made it to this year’s Acton swap meet, having missed the 2006 edition because of an imminently-arriving baby. The baby did arrive, and...
Apr 29, 2007
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Acton or rust
Acton 2005 featured some rare Ontario plates, such as a '21 dealer and a set of '39 doctors... and a never-before-seen 1932 IEC plate.
Apr 23, 2005
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A piece of the Acton
I think I’m going to make an annual point of descending upon Acton with my fellow collectors, for as long as springtime swap meets are...
Apr 20, 2004
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