NOW PLAYING: Drones 27 May, 1999 We moved. Not just a simple, ordinary "different place in the same town" sort of move, yet not a complex, arduous "different country" sort of move. It was the in-between kind: a "couple states away" sort of move. The actual move went about as well as it could go, I suppose, thanks to the help that we had from our Moms & Dads. The big 20-foot straight-truck I drove had a 65-MPH governer on it, which made Interstate highway driving a drag, but we eventually reached our destination. We're still living in "Boxville," and there are things that I still can't find and assume are still packed away somewhere. I guess they'll turn up eventually. In the meantime, we're not tripping over boxes and other objects quite as much, and maybe in another month or so the place will be pretty squared away. Which is more than I can say for my car. I mean, I hope that the license and registration for my little Miata will be taken care of by then, but.... The dull-witted dolts at the DMV can't seem to add. Or think. Evidently, when I left this fair state a couple years ago, I didn't turn in my license plate when I cancelled my auto insurance, according to the Government Drones. Well, that's the first I'd ever heard of it -- maybe they should tell you that when you get the damned thing, hmmmm? My wife didn't turn hers in, and SHE didn't have any problems at all. Then follows a long, sordid story about moving out of then back into a state, changing insurance companies, and my tax dollars at work (not!). The aforementioned Drones, having failed to previously notify me of my "duty" to turn in my old license plate, had put what they call an "Insurance Stop" on my car, and wanted to fine me $100 before they'd "allow" me to fork over even more dough for a new license tag and registration. We politely informed the Drone Behind the Desk that we moved, changed insurance companies, and that the car was A) always insured, and B) had been registered in another state before the old policy was cancelled. Following several phone calls in which different Drones provided us with evidently conflicting information, we brought in the paperwork from the two insurance policies, showing that the first was cancelled at midnight on 9/24/97 and the current one began at 12:01 a.m. on 9/25/97. The Drone, who must have missed the lesson on "how to tell time" before dropping out of the 2nd grade and going to work for the government, insisted that I had a "one day lapse" in coverage, since the old policy was cancelled on the 24th and the new one began on the 25th -- I would still have to pay the $100. "Why the hell would I pay for two policies on the same car at the same time?!" I exclaimed. "That'd be idiotic!" "I don't know, sir, but there's nothing I can do," said the Drone. At this point, I was getting ready to say some very unpleasant things to the Drone, and my Lovely Wife dragged me out of that Den of Stupidity. The Wife has since spent time on the phone with the insurance company and more Drones, and we seem to have this cleared up (in that we supposedly don't have to pay the hundred smackers) but I haven't ventured into the presence of the Drones to try again. I mean, my out-of-state plate doesn't expire until December, and who knows -- if I visit the Drones again, some of that Stupidity might get on me. And it's hard to brush off.
previous | archive | now playing | next
|