I’m waiting out in front of the house for the airport shuttle with my giant suitcase all set for two weeks in the sun. In a fit of efficiency, I decide to put my driver’s license and credit card in my pants pocket in preparation for all the times I’ll have to show them at the airport.
Credit card: check. Drivers license...no drivers license. Frantic search everywhere. Still no license. The shuttle driver arrives and I have to tell him to go on without me. More frantic searching. Nada.
I call the Department of Licensing (DOL) and they say, “No problem. Come to the Phinney Ridge DOL and we’ll give you a new one.” There is still time. I’ll get the new license and Terry agrees to leave work and drive me to the airport. It’s tight but doable.
I go to the DOL, I wait in line, I tell my story, and the girl says, “Fine. Look in the little machine and I’ll give you an eye test.”
I can’t see a bloody thing. I can’t believe anyone could see anything in there. She says read line 3 and then tell her the letters I think might be there. I say I can’t make out anything. We do this a bunch of times and she tells me my driving privileges are revoked because I’m blind!
I drive home, illegally, and have a really big meltdown. A howling meltdown.After I calm down a bit, I go to the Shoreline DOL and, after a 40-minute wait, tell the nice lady there my story and that I just want to see if I can read the letters in her eye-checking machine. I read them fine, she gives me a license, and I tell her to call the person at the Phinney Ridge DOL and tell her to get her machine fixed. I wonder how many people will be told they are blind today until that woman actually comes out from behind the counter and takes a look into the machine herself.
Now I’m home, with my paper license, and calling Expedia to change my flight. An hour and $389.50 later, I have a new flight tomorrow (Thursday). Enterprise changed my car rental to tomorrow for no charge, and I am a dishrag.
Oh! And I had to take a new DL picture with puffy eyes and my makeup all cried off. It will get better after this or there will be ructions.
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2 comments:
What an incredible story! I can't imagine going through all that in a day, and to think that a faulty machine rejected you and the administrator told you that you were blind! I hope you have a time that makes up for all the awfulness of yesterday. -- Susan in Anacortes
What madness!!! I would have been postal by mid-day.
Glad you didn't give up, and while delayed, will still get your vacation and the peace of mind that you are NOT blind!
Did you ever find your original license?
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