Recently my Driver’s License here in the Golden State expired and I failed to take note. It was incumbent upon me to take care of the situation on short notice – without an appointment. If any of you in the audience live in California where I am writing from the following story may not be all that shocking.
Sans appointment one must show up early at the local DMV office here in Oceanside, California. I got there at 7:00 AM and the office doors open at 8:00 AM. There was trouble in paradise, however – the DMV actually opened at 9:00 AM. This elusive detail was left to the wildest of imaginations and not on the government-funded DMV website that I had visited the night before.
I overheard an individual in the crowd mention ‘budget cuts’ as causation.
I had two hours at my leisure and took advantage of dissecting my surroundings. I overheard a man in close proximity telling stories of myriad wives that he had met in Vegas, all of whom turned out to be ‘tramps’ – he even mentioned one that was certifiably psychotic (like he wasn’t). He mentioned driving a truck, he cursed a lot, he seemed to lack any class or public decency and was within earshot of everyone.
Another guy wearing a trench coat circled the crowd – we must have looked like an easy kill. He was hawking ‘hot’ DVDs of movies that were currently showing in local theaters. I didn’t see a sale, much less a prospective client, but I had to commend his consistent persistence, illegal and nefarious as it was. I started thinking. That kind of behavior is actually encouraged here in California. You see, from the top down hard work and playing by the rules doesn’t work. Many would rather stand in line at the government office, get subsistence checks in the mail and avoid actual, legitimate business pursuits at all costs. Those citizens licensed in legitimate business pursuits are the last of a dying breed and subject to every hysterical petri dish concoction of the Sacramento progressive kingpins.
I digress. As I continued watching and pondering, time came to a slow screeching halt. The bell had tolled nine on the dot.
A very heavy-set lady with a military-esque uniform entered the crowd as the DMV doors opened. She yelled at the top of her lungs, “Drivers’s license renewals, driver’s test, license suspension….” She had a large stack of gub’mint (how she said it) papers and forms in front of her, clasping them, grunting and shouting like the sergeant out of Full Metal Jacket. An elderly Hispanic man approached and attempted a cunning cut in the line, requesting the ‘free’ documents. “Get to the back of the line!”, was all that he was greeted with by the DMV officer.
Hmmph, I might actually like this lady, I thought.
I requested the form to save my life – a simple driver’s license renewal form DL-44 and stood in line outside for another 15 minutes. At this time I filtered out all of the external noise and characters of the scene surrounding me.
I had to focus!
I filled out the damn little form as fast as possible, knowing that doing just that would get me out of the office, once I was safely inside. If not, I may be captive for who knows how long. My life could be in danger.
As I entered DMV CENTCOM, I glanced at the number on the digital screen. I could smell the apprehension in the air – the angst, human misery. Body odor too. I waited my turn and was whisked away to window G-21 whereby I handed my expired license and super-prematurely filled-out form to a very unhappy skinny little man working behind the desk. Looking at him, straight into his beady little eyes, I offered a ‘good morning‘. However, he expressed no interest in the morning or it being good, either. Better for it, anyway, I thought.
“Thirty-one dollars” was all he said in a foreboding grunt. I happily paid and was informed that my shiny new license would arrive in the mail in 3-4 weeks.
All of this hassle and I had to wait 3-4 weeks for a plastic card that a credit card company would have in delivered to your mailbox in 24 hours. And my little experience exemplifies the progressive agenda, wrapped up with a shiny bow on top, and sold to Americans every several decades or so.
Have we lost our minds to not consider that Obama’s Shining City on a Hill is actually just a re-packaged Department of Motor Vehicles?
Tim Daniel is a small business owner and entrepreneur who currently lives in San Diego, California with his wife and lovely cat. He is editor in chief of the southern California-based Left Coast Rebel blog.