A notice from the Division of Motor Vehicles telling me my license must be renewed before my birthday reminded me of how I actually received my license in the first place.
Today, if you go in for your license, you have to take your papers. And maybe your momma's papers. When we went for our Real IDs just prior to the pandemic, we took along everything but the kitchen sink. I think we even took the deed to the house.
We didn't need most of it, but better safe than sorry, especially when the DMV is an hour's drive away.
But in 1978, all I needed was my daddy.
When I went to the DMV to get my learners permit, I guess it was, my father took me. I did not have my birth certificate with me. I seem to recall this was a spur of the moment initiative on my dad's part, and I hadn't really prepared to do this that particular day.
Hence the lapse.
At any rate, because I didn't have my birth certificate, the nice lady behind the counter was going to send me home. I was upset about this, and tears sprang into my eyes, not only because I wasn't getting my permit, but because I'd get an ass-chewing for not having the paperwork and wasting my father's time when we got into the car.
The nice lady saw my distress and asked to see my father's driver's license. He presented it. She said, "I'll tell you what, if he can tell me your birthday and it matches with what I have here, I will give you your license."
I looked hopefully at my father, who preceded to give her a date.
"Daddy!" I wailed. "That's my brother's birthday!"
The woman chuckled. Dad looked embarrassed.
"Don't help him," the woman cautioned. I wiped at a tear.
Dad came through with the right birthday on his second guess. I received my learner's permit without any documentation whatsoever. I don't remember if I presented my birth certificate for my final license, but I suppose I did, having learned that lesson.
I guarantee that story could not be told by anyone trying to get something from the DMV today.
That was fun to read and I'm glad your dad came up with the right date! I'm not sure my dad would have known mine or not.
ReplyDeleteWent for my real ID and took all kinds of stuff and they made electronic copies of every single thing. Good grief.
ReplyDeleteI went three times before I had all the correct documentation for my Real ID.
ReplyDeleteI brought too much when I went in for my Real ID. My monthly bank statement and mortgage statement but, since they were from the same bank, I also brought a credit card statement from a different bank. An insurance bill and a utility bill. My W2. Social Security card and birth certificate. I was over compensating because I don't have a passport. The pre-screener at the State of Illinois building flipped through my stack of paper and rolled his eyes so far back I swear he could see his own brain. He separated what I really needed and put those documents on top and sent me on in to wait my turn at the window. I remember this so clearly because it was January 31, 2020. Because of covid, I wouldn't be in the State of Illinois Building again for years. PS Your story reminds me of the first time I went to vote. I felt so grown up, so independent. Until the election judge told me I'd just missed my grandma and wondered when my mom would be in to be vote. She barely checked my signature! I was really disappointed. I felt like a kid.
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