Posted on 11/05/2013 8:17:36 PM PST by MrChips
“Now serving A413 at window number 6," blared the computer-generated female speaking voice over our heads. “Now serving C742 at window number 3" it continued. Here we are at the Department of Motor Vehicles . . . excuse me, it has been annoyingly renamed the DDS, the Department of “Driver Services “(inspired, no doubt, by some scientific paradigm spawned by the Department of Education). “Now serving B318 at window number 4." The voice droned on. I turned to my 90-year old father, whom I had brought there not for a license renewal, since he has given up his car keys, but simply for an ID card. “Dad,” I said, “I feel like I’m in an airport, only I don’t get to go anywhere.” He laughed. And the laugh was worth enduring the tiresome boredom of our hour-long wait. “Now serving E513 at window number 10." Yes, there were actually 12 windows serving customers, but no more than half were staffed at any given time, despite the 150 people waiting. One hour turned into two hours, and I grew impatient with the government inefficiency, cursing the system under my breath, and sometimes audibly, as if to annoy the government employee sitting in front of me, a very large black woman wearing a “County Public Schools Police” badge on her uniform. But, she was reading a book about Jesus, and I bit my tongue. “Now serving D937 at window number 2," the voice blared. A pleasant voice, really, but made to seem unpleasant because mechanical, and soul-less. Finally, I heard “Now serving E731 at window number 4." Our number! My Dad’s number! And I joyously escorted my aging father, half-blind, up to the window. He handed over his papers: an old driver’s license, a yellowed social security card, a copy of his birth certificate, and he actually had with him his discharge papers from the Army. “I’m afraid I lost my original Social Security card while swimming the Ruhr river and dodging German bullets in World War II,” he explained. The clerk did smile. But, then she said to this highly decorated WWII veteran, “I’m afraid we can’t use your birth certificate; it’s not the original, either.” This, despite being told two hours earlier that they could look it up on their computer. I protested. She merely responded, “Do you have anything else?” A female voice blared “Now serving C3192 at window number 5." Suddenly panicked that our two-hour wait was all for nothing, I blurted out, “Well, in my car there are some forms from his stock broker with his name and address on them. Will that do?” She said, “Well, maybe.” I dashed off to get them, not knowing that there was a pouring rain outside. I ran. By the time I returned, out of breath, I was soaked through, and handed the soggy papers to the woman behind the counter. “Well, I dunno,” she said, turning to ask for guidance from another clerk. Then she turned and looked back at me, standing there in a puddle of water, soaked through, shivering. I mouthed the words, “Oh please. We have been here for two hours.” After a long pause, she looked at my 90 year-old father, and it seemed as if this government clerk was searching for her soul. “OK,” she said, stamping the papers quickly as if to be done with them, and with us. Dad took his new ID card, tried in vain to read it, and then folded it neatly into his wallet like some little treasure, and with the kind of gratitude and grace that only a very good and kindly man could have mustered at that particular moment. We walked to the door; I fetched my umbrella for him. “That was scary,” I said. “Orwellian!” And then it came to me: “The future of government-run health care will be like this. Wait your turn. Just take a number. Now serving A372 at window number 9.” My father laughed.
Most shouldn't exist! But then, I have been increasingly libertarian of late. :-)
I got online to make an appointment and first-available was 40 minutes from right then - figuring what the hell, I booked it and headed out the door.
...got to the office and there was a line of Mexicans pouring out the door and halfway down the building; I went up front and showed the security guy my appointment number, and he walked me up to a red line at the very front.
I was in and out of the place in less than 20 minutes.
Yeah, I saw a guy do that yesterday. I guess it can be done.
California’s DMV appointment system works surprisingly well.
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