DMV Another World

The DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) is definitely a world unto itself. Bri and I had to take a trip there to have her picture taken and pick up her license after passing the driver’s test. Even though an officer came to our Tony town to give the test…you still have to pay the DMV a visit. You see, there is no escaping the DMV. You might think you can run…but you can’t hide.

We arrive at DMV world and feel very fortunate…the first line that everyone must go through is very short. YES, the DMV gods must be looking down on us today! We excitedly tell the DMV lady our business….how Bri passed her driver’s test and she is here for her license….like she really cares. She says, “Here’ your number …go to the left. Our computers are down and we don’t know when they will be up again. We have someone working on it.” Huh? You have someONE…only one computer geek! What about a team of computer geeks…or a gaggle of geeks? Don’t computer geeks travel in packs? So we sit down…you can run, but you can’t hide.

There’s no turning back now…no throwing in the towel or DMV forms. We are in it for the long haul. The DMV is something you get yourself geared up for…you see it looming on your calendar circled in red and you know that you have to prepare yourself for a miserable experience. You can run…but you can’t hide.

We have nothing but time on our hands. Now what to do? That would be people watch…the DMV is the best place to see every form of life…and some species are more evolved than others. We spy a guy wearing cargo pants pulling out papers from different compartments and filing some others back. He was a regular walking file cabinet. Next time I go to the DMV, I am definitely wearing cargo pants.

Then there is...The girl with the wild colorful tattoo crawling up the back of her neck. The Romanian man that moved to the U.S. two years ago. The young girl who looked way to young to be having a baby. (not really our business) And the young children who were going ballistic waiting to get the hell out of there.

My favorite is watching the reaction of people when their DMV business is finished and they can escape. One guy actually waved to everybody sitting down. It definitely is a feeling of accomplishment and relief…like when school’s out for summer.

People actually seemed very patient at the DMV today…It can be a place where people snap, giving the DMV its other name…Driven Many Violent. Luckily no one wigged out… I hoped it would stay that way.

Yippee…good news… the lone geek fixed the DMV computer system. Only 33 people ahead of us. Let’s just hope that when they call Brianna’s name for her photo, she still feels like smiling. After all, when it comes to the DMV… you can run but you can’t hide.