[Editor’s Note: Yesterday, Bob Canfield wrote about love, peace, patience, and humility. With all possible respect for the faithful servants of what we locals refer to as merely “the Registry” … sometimes patience is required of all of life’s participants. Sometimes simultaneously. We are certain that there is a specific Bible passage that applies directly to this story…]
[Author’s Note: “We are very grateful that our move to Massachusetts has been such a great experience. We found our way to Sudbury United Methodist Church! But not everything was a positive experience. See the story below…”]
“How Do You Like Living In Massachusetts?”
When we moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Concord, Massachusetts, it was an adventure. We were thrilled to live near our daughter and family, we liked our choice of retirement communities, we had friends in nearby suburbs… it was all good.
And with moving comes all kinds of tasks that get you jump-started into the new life. There are new doctors to find, a new church home, a new hairdresser, a new library card, new grocery stores, etc. But nothing is as daunting as getting a new driver’s license!
We took off one morning to find the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The first thing we noticed was that it was a challenge to find a place to park. The second thing we noticed was there was a line in front of the office that snaked around the building. Not good.
So we got in line and hoped it would go fast. It did not. We inched our way to the front door thinking that once your feet were inside, you were almost there. Not so. We immediately realized that there did not seem to be much organization. There were two lines to the desk but it was not clear whether one line was for driver’s licenses and one was for license plates… we needed both and we had paperwork to support our mission.
We had already been waiting for an hour but finally reached the desk. We explained what we needed and were given a number. “Sit over there and wait ‘til your number is called.” We did as we were told. As we sat and waited, we soon came to understand that the numbers didn’t seem to be called in any kind of order. The process was slow.
As I watched the “victims” go to the desk with their number and request, I also watched the employees who were there to facilitate their request. There was one employee who looked especially miserable. His body language was very negative. He did not seem to be having a good time being in his job at the RMV. “Please don’t give me to this person,” I prayed. And we waited.
Oh no, I got HIM! I stepped forward feeling a little nervous as I had watched him with his other candidates. Our conversation went something like this:
“Oh, you moved from Ohio?”
“Yes.”
“How do you like Massachusetts?”
“Oh I really like it.” (I left out that I had spent sixty-five summers in Massachusetts!)
“I HATE it!”
This was not going well. He asked for proof of my having a residence in the state. I gave him the letter from our retirement community director stating that we are paying residents. He immediately rejected it.
“You have to have something like a utilities bill.”
“We don’t pay for utilities.”
He was about to reject me, when I saw my husband several spaces down talking his way into getting a new license and license plates. I said to him, “Help! What are you using for proof of residence?” Fortunately he had a local bank statement with our new address. I grabbed it and ran back to my space to give it to Mr. Grumpy. Whew, it was accepted.
Then it was time to show that I could read. And then he asked me to step back to have my photo taken. I was so undone by this time I stepped back in the wrong direction. “No, not there.” Needless to say my photo reveals an expression of complete unhappiness that will be with me until I need to renew this license.
I do like living in Massachusetts … but perhaps we will find another RMV [branch].
-Lynn Stroud
[Editor’s Note: Bible passages … … … found ’em.]
• Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
-Proverbs 14:29
• But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
-Romans 8:25
• Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
-Romans 12:12
Sudbury UMC Lenten Devotions 