Now fall is upon us, trees are turning colors pleasing to the eyes. A reminder that once was green and birds were nesting in the tree branches. Robins are gone and other song birds. The forever birds, sparrows, still searching on the ground for something to eat. What the future gives us now is the snow flurries that come with the winter season. From dawn to dust slowly the weather changes. Lawn mowers find their permanent place in the garage. Snow blowers need to be prepared oil and gassed and of course new snow shovels to replace the bent ones. Another season is coming. Will memories of sit down dinners and family conversations be the same? Some family gatherings are changing. A constant sting of daily reminders that brings tears to the heart. Life goes on but for other’s it’s a stand still.
June Leinwander
Sun City Resident
Pssst… Go to the Back Door of the Elgin DMV
I’m happy to say that I had a much better experience at the DMV in Elgin than Chris La Pelusa had in Woodstock.
I was very anxious about the process because being anxious is one of my favorite hobbies. Would I have to stand in line for hours? Would I have to use the rest room? Would I have the necessary documentation? (My parents had made my life unnecessarily complicated by naming me Mary Eileen, but only calling me Eileen, so I had very few records with my entire name.)
Happily, if you are over 65, have a disability, or are pregnant you get to go in the back door and avoid the long line. There’s really no way to know this, but the guard there assured me this was the secret entrance. She went through all my paperwork laboriously. When she was finally satisfied, she gave me a tiny piece of paper with the letter D written on it. I guess that means I passed, but barely.
Once inside I was directed to the photo section. It was taken against an aqua background which was great because I look fabulous in aqua.
Then I was given a number and waited in another line until I was directed to window 10, the only one with a chair. I thought of placing a bet, but the clerk didn’t look like she would find that funny. She went through my documentation and was quite critical of what I brought or didn’t bring. (You can look on line to find out what you need to bring.) She was finally satisfied that I had earned my D, did a lot of typing and photo-copying and sent me to the cashier. (Bring cash. They tack on fees for using a credit card. Oh, and bring hand sanitizer because everyone uses the same pen).
While it felt longer, it only took about an hour and everyone was very nice, except the woman in window 10. But that’s okay because there is a chair there.
Eileen Gaughan
Sun City resident
