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in which the government is a square peg and a round hole at the same time
Today I proved conclusively that not even the federal government can tell the state of Massachusetts anything. The DMV, despite the fact that its list of forms says so, will not accept an expired passport without a Social Security card. I ended up going down to the federal building by the Fleet Center (which isn't the Fleet Center any more, but I forget what it is), and filling out the form for a new Social Security card. The woman in the Social Security office gave me a piece of paper that says "this is the SSN for this person" and a receipt saying my new card was in the mail, and told me I could take those back to the DMV and they'd accept them. Except they won't, as I found out when I got back to the DMV. They will absolutely only accept Social Security cards, full stop. So I have to wait until I get the card (hopefully next week), and start over for the third time. If my Ohio license didn't have a now very wrong address on it, I'd be tempted to quit worrying about it until 2008 when the Ohio license expires.
I know that government offices don't talk to each other, and that goes double for communication between federal and state government offices. And I know that exercise is good for me, and the walk between the Registry and the federal building and back was probably a good thing. That does not, however, make me any happier about getting contradictory information (says one thing on one side of the form and something else on the other) from the DMV, and contradictory information from the DMV and the Social Security office. It also doesn't make the weather any less hot.
As much as all that sounded like complaining, I'm really not bitter. At this point, I'm resigned. And when I can afford it, I'm going to renew my passport, just so I can prove I'm me for another ten years, driver's license or no.
I know that government offices don't talk to each other, and that goes double for communication between federal and state government offices. And I know that exercise is good for me, and the walk between the Registry and the federal building and back was probably a good thing. That does not, however, make me any happier about getting contradictory information (says one thing on one side of the form and something else on the other) from the DMV, and contradictory information from the DMV and the Social Security office. It also doesn't make the weather any less hot.
As much as all that sounded like complaining, I'm really not bitter. At this point, I'm resigned. And when I can afford it, I'm going to renew my passport, just so I can prove I'm me for another ten years, driver's license or no.