Wild Weather Riding

The spring, around here, is being typical. Sometimes sunny days and warm temperatures. Other days it’s cold, rainy, and quite windy. And even other days it’s nice and sunny but crazy windy. It happens every year so it’s not a mystery and we’ve learned to deal with it.

Except, yesterday, I drove. It was colder, rainy, and quite windy, but, that’s not the reason. Back in March I suffered another birthday. I neglected to pull my driver’s license out. Had I, I would have noticed that it expired on my birthday this year.

Yesterday, over lunch break, I drove to the D.M.V. and picked up a driver’s license manual. I’ll have to re-take the written test. Which is no biggie, really.

When I glanced at the manual there was an insert. The insert told me I need to bring a picture I.D., a notorized birth certificate, two (2) bills showing my home address, and some other crap – that is all I can remember at this point.

The reasons given were something to the effect of reducing identity theft and reducing the possibility of terrorism. This immediately reminded me of “Alice’s Restaurant,” written by Arlo Guthrie.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape.

I suppose, it could be possible, even though the chances are really slim, there are “sleeper cells” of terrorists right here among us. The “sleeper cell” members were born and raised right here in good ol’ South Dakota, but like Officer Obie, the D.M.V. types were “just making sure.”

Common sense and government should never be used in the same sentence. I’ll have more on that at a later date. For now I’ll be studying “the manual,” looking for my birth certificate, and hoping I have some bills or something to prove I live where I do.


Ride On.