News and a View

The world looks green, this morning. Green and sunny. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the trees quite so full of leaves. 

Yesterday, as well as being my birthday, was the last day to get my driver’s license renewed. Yes, I had procrastinated. When I walked into the Department of Motor Vehicles, I should have been warned. The room was full and at least four of the windows of potential clerks had a sign that said This Station Is Closed.

That should have been a warning, but I hoped it just meant the people who worked those stations hadn’t gotten to them yet. So, I went to the little machine in the middle of the room and took a number. Ninety-two. Ninety-two? Yikes. But, giving everything the benefit of the doubt, I decided that perhaps it didn’t really mean I was to be ninety-second in line. Perhaps, it was just a–you know–a number.

The room was full of people sitting or standing, looking at their phones, looking at their shoes, looking dejected. But, they were helpful. I sat beside a man who had looked up from his phone. “Is this where I should wait to have my driver’s license re-newed?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, or you might should go to that area.” He pointed toward the other side of the crowded room. So, I went.

I sat and looked at the large monitor above the clerks’ desks in which the numeral sixteen glowed. No! I wouldn’t think that was correct. Surely, it didn’t mean that they were that far removed from my lofty numeral. But, alas, it did.

You will find this hard to believe, but I had forgotten to bring a book. I hadn’t remembered the consummate slowness with which the DMV moved. I should have brought snacks and shared them. I could have made dozens of new friends. I wondered, briefly, if anyone would join me in a song if I went to the front and started singing. Just to, you know, liven things up a bit. But, I sat. And, sat, from 10 o’clock until 12:30.

At last, rewarded with a picture on a small, plastic card which showed some tired, disgusted, old woman, a stranger to me, I left the DMV. What a relief! Now I could legally drive for eight more years. Next time, I’ll bring a book, a blanket (it was cold in there) food, and a whole lot of patience. Next time.