Sat 30 May 2009
The Straw . . .
Posted by Elena under Current Events
Poor camel, broke her back.
The mailman brought the last straw today.
I was out in the driveway, just moved my van out of the garage so I could get to the wood scraps. The signs we had with our house numbers could barely be read — if you knew what they said. It was past time to replace them with the fire department’s reflective numbers. I was trying to figure out the easiest way to put the new signs up (anything but drilling into the brick), when the mailman pulled up. I tucked it under my arm and looked around the garage. Realizing that I’d loose the mail if I carried it around much longer, I took it inside.
Some time later, after drilling holes in the signs to match the holes from the old signs, I opened the mail.
I didn’t think there was anything special about the letter from the DMV, had to be paperwork for my van. Turned out — my driver’s license is being revoked effective June 11. The reason — “Failure to submit medical report.” Uhhh . . . What medical report? The form they’ve sent me before renewing my license? Maybe. Probably. But they didn’t send me a form. Or, I didn’t get the form they sent. Doesn’t matter what happened. The result — I’ve got to jump through hoops for the DMV.
I stayed as calm as I could for as long as I could — until Lew fell asleep. Then I quietly slipped out to the kitchen. That was it. I had finally reached my limit and came unglued. I was still crying when Lew came out, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He had already forgotten.
“I can’t take any more crap! I’ve had enough! I can’t handle any more shit!” and I ran away from him to close the world off in the bathroom.
I can’t believe I said that to Lew. He was trying to comfort me when I left the room, shutting him out. Later, I told him that he better not die tonight. I don’t think he heard me. I’ll probably stay awake all night listening to his breathing.
Oops. Things are back to normal (our normal). Lew just got up to look for the “big guns.” Seems he’s building cannons in his dreams. He couldn’t tell me who he was selling them to, though.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:48 am
Oh for Pete’s sake. WTF? Medical form? Sheesh.
Feel free to call me if you need to. I’m a good listener.
Cannons, huh?
May 31st, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I’ve been thinking about filing a discrimination suit. You know anyone who doesn’t look disabled who has had to pay their doctor to fill out the seven page form? Maybe it should be a class action suit.
Humm . . . I wonder if John Edwards is available.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
The day I was there at the DMV and was told I had to have the forms filled out, there was this old man getting his license. He couldn’t stand, couldn’t find the seat to sit down for his photo, they had to help him at every step. Yet he got his %*#$ing license and I didn’t.
Like you have enough to do, a class action lawsuit would be more than the straw for the camel.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:48 am
Yes, I’m still here, listening from my post in New Jersey.
Please don’t panic. First, get hold of your state rep right away. Tell her/him that you need an extension. They love to play hero and buy your vote. Get a new set of forms, medical reports, whatever they want. Fill them out in an orderly way, and pay no attention whatsoever to June 11. NO-ONE WILL SHOW UP AT YOUR DOOR. They don’t repossess licenses. So here’s what could happen:
- You get the extension and complete the paperwork and everything is fine.
-See if you can get a note from your Doc or someone from the DMV saying that the work is in progress. So now you have your pieces in place. There is a good chance it will simply stop there. If it doesn’t, let’s go through the what-ifs.
-You never get pulled over, and when the paperwork is done you’re fine.
-You get stopped. You show your note to the uniform; s/he goes away. It is highly probable (95%) that at this point everything is straightened out.
IF NOT:
-You get stopped and the paper doesn’t work. Explain your dire situation with emphasis, at length. Carry a copy of your blog and read it out loud. Cry. Ask for mercy. Say, can’t you just give me a warning? You’ve just given the person a way out, and s/he takes it.
-You get the ticket.
-Get a court date to dispute ticket(s). Notify all your friends and supporters AND a reporter from the paper - they LOVE this stuff. Ask the reporter to bring a photographer. Show up at the hearing with the entire entourage and look as pitiful as possible. Bring the pot to the boil and stir vigorously. LOTS cheaper that a discrimination suit and way more fun.
This is just a suggestion for a plan based on simple programming techniques. Just lay out a plan, any plan, and then you can take that particular stress off the table and lay it on the chair, ready for use when needed.
~Ideas from the mind of your deeply caring friend from long ago and far away.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
A friend found out what happens when you don’t respond to the DMV’s letters (They had written to her at the wrong address.). She got stopped at an ordinary license checkpoint. She wasn’t concerned about it until the officer told her that there was an outstanding arrest warrant for her.
Fortunately, the officer was a friend. He let her drive home to park her pick-up, but he followed.
Also, fortunately, she was able to prove to the judge that she had notified the DMV of her current mailing address and that the DMV had, in fact, made a mistake.