Total Mileage: 2,201
Song of the Day: "The Hours that You Keep" (Maritime)- yet another in my long list of songs that reference Memphis, TN
Book of the Day: still the church life cycle stuff
Well, it was a thoroughly unproductive day on the church research front, but I hadn't really expected to get that much done in Memphis anyway-- too many people to see, errands to run, and meals to eat. Besides, I had other business to attend to today, namely driving out to Oakland, TN, to get a new driver's license. You see, Memphis has a drastic shortage of license centers, so unless you camp out the night before, the lines at the main location on Summer Ave. are typically a minimum of five hours. I remember waiting nine hours in line for my first driver's license at age 16, and I didn't want to do that again. At 21, I had been lucky enough to live in the far-less-populated Mt. Vernon, OH, where I was in and out with a new license within an hour, even after the difficult task of gathering up all the necessary identification to prove that I did in fact live in Ohio. As it was due to expire within a month, I wanted to renew my Ohio license when I passed through there a few weeks ago, but without any way to prove residency, this was not an option. I then considered a North Carolina license but quickly discovered that all my necessary documentation was back in Memphis, so that was out too. Driving without a license simply wasn't an option (due to my innate desire to keep the cops from having any real charges to pin on me-- long story), so I was forced to acquire a Tennessee license once again.
The experience really wasn't all that bad, especially by comparison to the long lines within the city. Still, it was a little annoying to have to provide my old license, my social security card, my birth certificate, the exhumed remains of the doctor who delivered me, and two proofs of a local address (which were a little difficult to scrape together since I don't really live here). The really humiliating part was just having to drive the 25 miles back into town to sift through my parents' mail to find anything official-looking with my name on it, adding an unintentional 100 miles to my total in the process. All this made for a complicated afternoon, but it could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, I had a few journal articles, some people-watching, and a few very happy text message conversations to keep me entertained, so the wait wasn't that unbearable at all.
I'm a little behind on correspondence right now, and I have a lot of reading to do. Maybe I can hole up in my old room tomorrow and get some of that knocked out. . . . although I still promised a certain special someone that I'd go get myself a knife to ward off the bears.
Peace and Blessings,
Tom
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