..six..points..

if you ever have to register anything in the empire state, be prepared to sign over your left kidney or first born child. they want documentation like i've never seen before. something about points. six points.

you know about the points

the lady behind the information counter asked.

no. what points?

you need six points. a passport is six. a birth certificate zero. a driver's license from another state, two.

madness.

so i'm scrambling to find six points and have come home with a armload of paperwork to complete. the way they talk to you, the desk people, like you should know better.

ignorance of the law is no excuse, i know this. but assumption of ignorance as a rule is just demeaning. i'm trying to be nice, humble. meek.

ha! none of that really works for me for extended periods of time and i have to go back to the dmv at least two more times.

i'm getting a passport as soon as i can. six points. no questions.

they're favoring the foreigners

my beloved said.

or people with money,

i replied.

what is a poor person going to do with a passport?

before we left texas we contemplated getting passports. we didn't. we drug our feet as we do where government documentation is concerned.

so now, grrr. i'm grappling with the desk clerks and ignorant of many of the rules.

these things make my blood boil. i'm trying not to wax hormonal but it's tough. i'm sure you can't just assume people are who they say they are these days. but the logistics of a semi-permanent move and personal freedoms pale in contrast to these governmental rules and deadlines.

i'm trying to wrap my head around it all. and remain humble.

my husband said,

they may throw you in a cell.

he says this to freak me out. which i'm not sure if it is just an ethnic thing, or if all humanity freaks at the thought of going in to deal with government agencies. these are the times i feel fiercely unprotected, when i stand before the desk clerks, paperjockies, those who will determine if i'm in compliance or not and how much i actually owe.

these fears rise up and i can only try to reason with them.

i've done nothing wrong. it will be well.

i keep telling myself that.

i've done nothing wrong. it will be well.

perhaps one day, i'll believe it.