Better Take a Number

Being the proud, if confused, new owners of a travel trailer, we needed to go get the title changed.  So we head down to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get the proper forms filled out.  On the first try down at the licensing agency, it turns out we are missing one, so contact the owner and after several days, get the form signed.  Thus armed with papers and signatures, we stride into the licensing office to do business.

Imagine our surprise when there is not one single person in line.  None whatsoever.  We grin at each other and walk up to the counter to hand the man our papers.

“I’m sorry,” he says.  “I can’t help you, you need to go to the window titled Titles.”

“Oh.”  We look at the signs and we are in the wrong line.  So we go over to the window titled Titles, just like he said.

Who should appear but the same man.  We hand him the papers.

He doesn’t touch them, for a second man instructs us, “You need to take a number.”

“But there is no one here.”

“You need to take a number.”

We find the number machine and take a number.  It’s 23.  We stand there for a moment, expecting him to call us. 

Nope.  We take a seat.  After we sit, the man who told us to take a number gets on the loudspeaker and says, “NOW SERVING NUMBER 23.”  The building reverberates.  Apparently, sitting is a required function.

We walk to the window ready to do business, but the two men are busy elsewhere.  This too must be a required function of the process.  After a few moments of standing there, the first man comes to help us.

He can’t figure out what model of travel trailer we have, so we tell him to find the closest description and make a guess.  We might have well told him to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.  He gasped.

After ten minutes of puzzlement and discussion, we figure out the model number.

In California, they call the licensing place the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  Here in Washington, it’s called the Department of Licensing (DOL).  One should know this before wasting a check by making it out to the wrong acronym.

The titles are eventually printed and signed in the correct places, and we heave a sigh of relief.

As we head out the door, we whisper to the innocent walking in, “Better take a number.”