I had to go to the DMV to renew my license today. I’m hoping my new photo will be slightly less thuggy than 3 of my last 4. I did have one for a while when my hair was down to my butt and I had a good 90’s indie rock smile, but otherwise I always look like a thick-necked and bouncer.

I actually could have renewed by mail, but an eye test was required because I am a corrective lens person. This amused the hell out of me because there were half a dozen senior citizens with canes and blue blockers and a renewal form like mine, but none of them had to take the eye test. Seriously, WTF? One of those seniors almost backed into me in the parking lot a few minutes later, so, again, WTF?

The line was interesting. Understand that I have waited in some of the best NY state DMV lines for myself or with friends including Westchester and Manhattan offices. I have seen fist fights, I’ve seen people ejected, I’ve seen cops in the office draw their guns to “keep the peace,” I’ve seen lot. So, Millbrook…really didn’t make much of an impression. It was a 10 minute visit, from back of the line to completed transaction.

The thing that blew my mind, considering my vast experience with the excruciating NY state DMV experience, was the anger of the 15 or so people on line. I saw everything from equestrian apparelto ghetto hoodies with bling sunglasses to Members Only-style jackets, but universally, these peeps were miserable.

The prime sign of misery on line? The massive, dramatic sigh. The sigh that says, “I should be performing open heart surgery on the prime minister of England right now but you little people won’t hustle me through the line.

I’m back to my earlier sentiment. WTF people. WTF. From overheard bitchings I learned that at least half were retired (and didn’t really need to be there in the first place), two were unemployed with nothing else to do and one woman was a stay at home Mom who “runs errands when her kids are in school.” I guess this didn’t count as an errand. There was also a kid just discharged from the Marines. There was actually only one person on line I can say for sure was taking a half hour off from work. That was me.

Peeps, is it really that bad? 10 minutes in line is really that bad? Come on. I waited longer to buy a $5 basketball at Walmart a couple weeks ago, behind a family of trailer folk with a hell of a lot of canned spaghetti and meatballs than I did at the Millbrook DMV.