BUREAUCRACY: License to laugh

Last Friday, July 22, I spent three hours at the licensing place in Coeur d’Alene. I finally walked away three hours later without renewing my license. They open at 7:30. I got there shortly after 8. I was number 75. They were servicing number 27. I sat outside for two hours until the sign read 65. I then found a place to sit inside waiting for my number to come up. The numbers trickled down to 74. Finally, I thought. A lady behind the counter hollered out, “Our computers just went down.” The number 74 was frozen in time.

Thank God, most of us had a great sense of humor about the whole situation. Everyone inside knew I had No. 75 and I was getting antsy to leave. After an hour of sitting there with no hope that the computers would come back, several people started bidding on my number. We shared a bad turn and made it fun. Before I left, the bid was up to $22 and dinner at Taco Bell. I left with No. 75. Didn’t seem right to let anyone crowd in that way. Months ago there was a piece in the paper about Post Falls opening a drivers licensing place again. Come on folks! The people at the state or county levels in charge of that should have to stand in line like the rest of us peons.

I went down Monday morning to try again. I got there at 6:45. I was the first person there. The first in line. I got in and out no problem. There had to be 40 people in line behind me. That was me on Friday. I had made up my mind to go to Sandpoint Tuesday if I ran into problems again. The wait up there couldn’t possibly be as long. Turns out I didn’t have to make the trip north.

The gals in drivers licensing do the best they can. We all know they do. And they do it with a smile and a grin. God bless them for that. They’re a great bunch of ladies to put up with all of us every day.

DAN McHATTAN

Hayden