Its Been a Long Time. But I went to the DMV!

Wow. I can't believe I haven't posted anything in a a full month. I feel like such a failure. I know I have visited this subject before, but its still the same. I feel obligated to post something but I haven't had the heart to do it, and in the end I simply sit in front of an empty blog post left with frustration. Ugh.

But here I am, with a sense of renewed vigor.

My most recent foray into the world of introspection culminated with a trip to the DMV. My employment requires me to have a valid California Driver's License (I'm sure there are a lot that do). As with any trip to the DMV, there are all sorts of people there.

I decided an early trip was in order, hoping to beat the crowds and not have to wait too long. I was pretty sure the DMV opened at 8, but figured an extra hour wouldn't hurt. Apparently, though, I was wrong. When I got there, there was a line of about 15 people. And that was simply to get a number to actually get some service. Yikes.

So I got my number. G-021. I wasn't sure how the number system worked, but quickly discovered there was some sort of system involved that would have needed Steven Hawking to decipher. So there I was left to wait, and watch.

People watching is a good past time if you are stuck some where waiting. And only at the California Department of Motor Vehicles can you find such a diverse crowd all in one place.

Before I get into any descriptions of what I saw, I should point out that I am a fairly jaded person, and my employment has conditioned me to be fairly judgmental of people based off of my observations and how they relate to the people I work around (just making a small disclaimer in case anyone takes offense to my observations and my interpretations of them).

So, on to observations. The people directly in front of me were an older couple. And the female of the duo was there to renew her license. They were normal enough, and really of no note. An odd thing to see at the DMV. There was a guy in a red shirt and matching red hat. He had two kids with him, who were clean and neat, and seemed to be generally well mannered. Another odd thing to see at the DMV.

And that is where the normalness ended.

One gal looked like she simply rolled out of bed and put on some slippers. Seriously, if her breasts had been any more exposed by her minuscule shirt I would have thought that red shirt guy would have been covering his kids eyes. On top of that, her pants (if that's what we want to call them) looked as though they hadn't been washed in about 6 months. Wow. People leave the house like this? She strutted around and seemed to be unaware of her "flaunting" as she was helped by the people who are employed by the great state of California.

Then there was a couple of young men. They were wearing pants that seemed to be fastened to there knees, constantly taking and making calls on their cell phones, and generally looked like the mal-contents most parents fear their kids will turn out to be like. They, for reference, were keyed in on the PJ girl like a naval submarine's radar to a foreign bogie. Seriously, the ogling that was going on was shameful, to say the least. But I don't think these two fellows were very well versed in the art of showing any sort of manners and decency.

The really obvious couple came in not long after I did (and just for reference, got help before I did too). A couple who looked to be in there early 50's. However, my own observations said they might be a little younger but were victims of their own self-destructive life style. the man of the two was dressed in fairly unassuming clothes, however his gait and and general demeanor suggested he was used to a life of living off of the state (remember my disclaimer) and alcohol and/or drugs. The female of the duo had a lot of the same demeanor, however she was extremely boisterous about being "handicapped" and was hooting and hollering about needing a chair everywhere she went. I have to give credit to the folks at the DMV, they put up with a lot. And as often as you hear about how snitty they are, they were certainly doing their best to be patient and accommodating.

The last person who really stuck out was a gentleman who appeared to be in his mid-70's. He was extremely well dressed, extremely polite, and hunched over a rolling walker. I watched him try to navigate the crowds and apologize here and there for his walker being in the way. He looked like the kind of grandparent I would want if I wasn't already content with the ones I have I my own life. But what astounded me in this, was he was issued a new license without any hesitation. I'm sure this Grandfatherly figure is a wonderful man. But seriously, shouldn't there be some sort of judgement call on the part of DMV employees when it comes time to decide if someone should be driving or not? Perhaps I am over reacting. For all I know he was rolling himself back outside to his classic muscle car which he drives with all the confidence in the world. But I can't escape the idea that instead he was going back out to his Lincoln Town Car and driving home at 15 mph. Ugh.

So there you have it. Observations for a somewhat opinionated person who made all of these judgements based off of my my own experiences with other people who were completely unrelated to any of these here mentioned.

Someday, when life gets farther on, I hope that if I resemble any of these people, its the Grandfatherly one. And I hope I own a classic car with which I will be burning rubber after renewing my license.