Saturday, just afternoon, I found myself in the park behind Boulder High School
I asked her
what she had been up to lately. She said
she had been fighting the computer system at the State Department of
Transportation. She had recently applied
for a new driver’s license that had to be mailed to her. When it arrived she looked at it for a quick
review. Jane told me that the giant
electronic wizard, the know-it-all IBM master computer; the savior of the
massive amounts of data that the state holds on us made a small mistake. Her license had her date of birth correct,
had her hair and eye color correct; even her weight and height correct. Everything was correct except her name. Her license called her John instead of Jane.
She immediately called the
Department of Transportation and informed them of the mistake. The person on the other end of the phone said
she had the correct form to deal with the issue and would promptly mail it to
Jane. It arrived the next day. Jane completed the form and returned it. Two days later an envelope arrived. Enclosed was a sticker to be attached to the
back of the driver’s license. It states
that, in the eyes of the state, her name has officially been changed from John
to Jane.
