Applying for the Enhanced Driver's License
"Sir, don't you want your paperwork?" shouted the clerk behind the counter at the DMV. The frustrated man stormed off muttering angrily, "you can keep the &*#@ paperwork!" He was the extreme example of the anxiety that can build while waiting your turn at the Department of Motor Vehicles. He had finally heard his number called by the computerized voice, reached his designated window and then discovered he did not have all the documents for a successful transaction.
I had a taste of the same frustration, although better coping skills, as I spent two hours and eleven minutes at the DMV attempting to renew my driver's license. I entered the Western Lights DMV at 9:57 a.m. I left at 12:11 p.m. I skipped the easier online renewal because I decided to upgrade to the new Enhanced Driver's License which requires a personal appearance at your local office.
I checked in and got number B220. I saw a few B numbers on the screen. It seemed I might wait for 15 to 20 minutes. A half hour later I started chatting with a woman who was also there to renew her license. She had been given an "F" number. I learned she's a librarian at LeMoyne. Her daughter is a television reporter in Tennessee. We both realized the DMV workers must be on a major smoke break because this was taking a while.
I went back to the check-in desk to point out to the clerk that I had been waiting one hour. She looked at my ticket and said, "yes, you have been." I returned to my new found librarian friend. Eventually she was called to the counter, well before me. She apologetically took care of her business and wished me luck.
Finally, 1:12 minutes after arriving the computer voice called my number. I started presenting my documents. The clerk told me I should have told the check-in counter that I wanted the Enhanced License because I should have been in another line. I told her no one ever asked me that. Just like that I was given another number: G723.
More waiting. That's when I watched the angry man storm from the building. Then another call for me by the computerized voice. Documents scanned. I kept my old, more youthful picture. Then I was sent back to the other window.
The light was finally visible at the end of the tunnel or as the guy in the next window over was saying, "is this the 9th gate to hell?" His description suddenly seemed more on target when the clerks suddenly started tapping on their computer keyboards with a touch of familiar panic. The computer server had gone down at every DMV across New York State.
All I could do at that point was smile and laugh. You know that kind of laugh. The one filled with exasperation where you realize a sense of humor is your best mechanism to deal with absurdity.
Just as the clerk was writing out the equivalent of a free pass to the head of the line for tomorrow the computers revived. She quickly accepted my $93 fee for the privilege of holding the enhanced license for the next six years. What a deal? I guess by the time this one expires I will have almost forgotten how much time I lost waiting at the DMV.
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