Tunnel Vision

I stared at the license plate of the vehicle in front of me at the stoplight.

ISLHMZ

No numbers, just letters.
Did it spell something?

ISLah means something in Arabic, I thought, but I couldn't remember what.
ISLam. Maybe it had something to do with Islam.
Maybe the z was being used to pluralize. Not proper, but if the "s" was already taken, it could work in a pinch.

Plano is a very diverse community, with a plethora of religions and houses of worship throughout the city. In fact, the Islamic association for our whole county was located only one block away from that very intersection.

Still, it seemed like a bold move to make a proclamation of one's religion on the license plate. What if he or she drove into a less supportive town? I was appropriately impressed by the courage of the car owner and hoped that nothing negative would come to him or her.

As I lifted my gaze to verify the stop light status (still red) I noticed that the entire back windshield of the SUV was covered with an image of a woman's face.

She definitely didn't look like what I'd expected for such a proud member of the Muslim faith.

Of course, that's the beauty of diversity, I reminded myself, and shame on you for even making that kind of an evaluation based on appearance.

But who would want her face plastered on the back of her vehicle, anyway?

I inched closer to read the significantly smaller words beside the giant portrait.

Oh!
She's a real estate agent.
I-SeLl-HoMeZ!

How very misleading.