Getting That Gold Star

Changing addresses is always a challenge in itself.

Massive boxes of books, heavy furniture, wobbly mattresses and bags of dishes usually means pulled muscles, sore backs and bruises that show up and hang around weeks later. You never know where to put all your old stuff in the new place, because nothing seems to fit like it did before. So, not only do you face the physical frustration of The Move, but you have the stress of Too Many Knick-Knacks, which means stuff's gotta go. If you're moving into a new place by yourself, you can cull out the Too Many Knick-Knacks on your own. If you're sharing a residence, it becomes a "Who-Can-Get-The-Knick-Knacks-Out-And-On-The-Bookcase-First" and it can be an all-out general admission ticket race. When one person leaves the house, the knick-knacks get moved around, and sometimes they get moved into a box in the garage. Then they get moved back when the other person leaves the house. The neighborhood thrift store sees a few of the unfortunates that don't make the grade by either party. At any rate, things eventually find their own places. You start to find the necessary items, like the pots and pans and the hair dryer, and life starts to find a little balance.

Continuing on to do the right thing, you go to the Driver's License Agency, to get your address changed, so that you're all legal and stuff. Now, you used to be able to change your address by just showing something that verified your address, such as a utility bill.

Florida has now instituted something called The Gold Star ID Verification Stamp. Which means that not only do you have to show two forms of identification as a United States Citizen, but you have to show two valid pieces of paper to show that you have actually moved to wherever you moved to. And, you have to get your photo redone, your signature re-signed and you gotta pay $32. All this for doing the right thing and changing your address on your driver's license.

But, for this, you get a little gold star in the upper right hand corner of your newly created driver's license.

Which, by the year 2014, will allow you on an airplane and in government buildings. No gold star, no European holiday.

I dunno. I guess it's all worth it. But, that's a lot of paperwork and money to come up with just for a little gold star.