Driving at Eighty-nine

October 16, 2020 (Friday)

Before I finally arrived at 85, I renewed my Drivers License online. So very easy. But I did not get to do that but once. Now I have to do it in person. I think anyone 79 or over must do it in person.

Now I am in a new category. I’m in the 85 and over class now, so I must renew my license every two years. When I realized my license was about to expire, I tried calling several DPS offices that issue the licenses, and got the same answering machine at each place. I discovered that my “smart phone” that I am still learning how to use, goes blank when the voice asks me to press “1.” So I dealt with that problem for quite a while before I could finally complete my call, and even then, because of the pandemic, never talked to anyone, but I did decide to try to use online addresses and finally made an appointment for two weeks later. I still had not been able to talk with a live person. I guess all of us should just get used to that.

When I went in (to Sinton), I learned I had to have a new, original birth certificate that I could get in Corpus Christi. Construction of the new bridge delayed my trip for an hour, but when I finally got to the court house, it was easy peasy. Came back home with a pretty birth certificate. The Sinton office had made an appointment for me for the next Friday, so I gathered together several documents that were listed as required on the appointment document, and made my way to Sinton again. Very easy. Done. Now I have a temporary license with my picture and everything.

I must renew every two years. That means I will be 91 years old the next time I renew. Wow. Hope I make it. Hope I’m still driving then, too. Safely, of course.

My license is going to look different, because I stopped shaving after being quarantined for a while. So for the first time, my ID will include a beard. How long I keep it remains to be seen.

Before my 2004 birthday I was 72 and was stopped by a DPS officer. When he saw the birth year on my license, he said, “My father was born that year; we don’t let him drive anymore.” (I did not get a ticket. Only got a friendly warning). Now, at 89, I’m beginning to feel that my driving days may be numbered. We’ll see.

I remember the good old days in Rockport when the DPS officer came to the Rockport Court House and we could renew our licenses here at home. If they could do it then, why not now?