Quote of the day:

A great many worries can be diminished by realizing the unimportance of the matter which is causing anxiety.
—Bertrand Russell

The story so far… 

My driver’s license expired and although I paid the renewal fee, I had to go to one of the DMV outlets to get my photo taken for the new ID, but when I went to the Arch Street location, the line stretched around the block because of the wait for the Real ID. Not wanting to wait an hour or more, I decided to go to the Oregon Street location, but as that is an hour or more by foot, I needed to update my Septa (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) ID so I can take advantage of the free bus rides that are available to senior citizens.

I wanted to wait until a cool morning because the Market Street Septa office is about a 30 minute walk. The web site said I needed an appointment, so I made one for Wednesday morning when the temperature was supposed to still be in the low 70s F around 8:00 AM. To renew my Septa ID, the instructions said I only had to bring the old ID (which expired in 2023) and another ID with my birth date on it to prove I was eligible for the senior discount. Not sure why, as I was renewing the ID so surely they already knew I was eligible or they wouldn’t have given me the senior ID in the first place, right? Who makes these stupid rules anyway? 

So I went with my old Septa ID and my expired driver’s license which had my birth date on it. As I was not trying to drive a car and was only using it as proof of my age (which supposedly Septa already had or they wouldn’t’ve given me the senior ID that I was now renewing), the fact that it was expired shouldn’t be a problem, right? (That’s called foreshadowing.)

I arrived at the Septa building at 1234 Market Street and was directed to the basement, which was a change from when I had gotten the ID originally, when the place to get the ID was on the second floor, but all things change.

I was greeted by a pleasant woman, and I gave her my old Septa ID and she asked if I had an ID with my birth date.

“I believe so”, I replied as I handed her my driver’s license.

She glanced at it and said, “I can’t accept this, it’s expired.” 

“But you’re only using it for the proof of my age and that hasn’t changed.” 

“I’m sorry.”

I started to explain that I needed the updated Septa ID to go to Oregon Avenue in order to get the new driver’s license because of the long line at Arch Street.

She said I could go over to the Municipal Services Building and get a City ID, which was free, and the wait was only about an hour.

I said if I didn’t want to wait at Arch Street for my driver’s license, why would I want to wait for a city ID?

We went back and forth a few more times and finally I remembered that the birth certificate is one of the proofs of age that they accept, so I mentioned that. She agreed and handed me a list of documents that they accept. I said I had my birth certificate at home, and I’d just wait for another cool day and bring that.

And that’s where we left it.

I have no idea whether it is official Septa policy not to accept expired driver’s licenses or whether she was just being a hard ass. Whatever, it makes no fucking sense.