Ohio Driver's License

A while back, I went to the driver's license bureau for license renewal, something I've done a number of times in several states over the years. Typically, the process is simple - turn in old license, pose for mugshot, take vision test, pay for new license, check it for errors, then leave.

Notably, besides home address and issue/expiration dates, the information displayed on my driver's licenses over the years has been largely unchanged from that which was displayed on my first license, obtained as a 16-year-old decades ago. I've never even been questioned about my weight which, you'll read it here first, has inched up over the years.

In any event, the last visit to get my license renewed was different. The government functionary looked at me and said, "Your hair is not blonde. Looks brown to me … And, you don't need corrective lenses."

I choked, "What?" My hair color had not changed. It's always been a somewhat dirty blonde. And my eyesight is actually a little worse with age. "How can you say that?' I asked. She glared, "You want to argue?"

I stepped back and acquiesced, realizing it wasn't something I could change since the woman's mind was made up. After all, it was a government worker telling me my hair color had changed and I can see clearly without corrective lenses.

My driver's license now says I have brown hair and I don't need glasses. It's wrong on both counts.