I wrote this while standing in line at the Casa Grande Motor Vehicle Deparment (MVD):

I'm standing in line at the MVD listening to people bellyache about the wait. They complain that people have to fill out forms now at the ticket counter instead of how it used to be: when you filled them out at the counter for whatever service you are there for.  So you get your ticket, fill out whatever paperwork is needed, then sit down and wait for your number to be called. 

These two people are saying how good it used to be, when you could fill out all the paper work when you sat down to do your business. I say it's faster now then it used to be; there are no longer hour or two hour waits for a five minute transaction.  The older gentleman scoffs and me and tells the woman we are talking to that it didn't used to be like that.  This system has been in place since before the MDV moved  in to the more spacious building it is in now; I haven't had to wait on anything for over 30 to 40 minutes in about five years.  Odd that I can remember one thing and these people seem to see life totally differently...

The MVD is about half full with about 10 or 15 people waiting in chairs and about 10 more in line.  As people exit more people come in; I'm not sure if it is busy but it certainly isn't slow.

At this moment I've been here maybe ten minutes; I'm in the middle of the line and about five or six people from the front.  In the time I've been here I've seen about eight or ten people go up to the desks, do their business, then leave.  That's about one person per minute transacting business.  I walk up, get my ticket and go sit down.

It's a bit later now, I had to use the restroom.  Just for the record it was 1:25 pm when I walked in here. (According to the clock in my car.)  I think I've been here maybe 15 minutes; one of the people complaining has already finished his business and left.  The line to get your ticket still has about the same amount of people in it; but there is no one left in line from when I came in.

My number is called; I'll be back later.

I'm out in the car now; it's 1:55.  It took 20 minutes from the time I got out of my car to the time I got back in.

Why am I writing this? I'm wondering about people. Do we just have to complain about everything?  The MDV system (At least in Casa Grande, Arizona) is more streamlined and moves people in and out in a more efficent and time saving manner then it did when I first started driving.  Making people fill out said paper work before they sit down has cut time down, in my estimation, by about half.  Like I said earlier I haven't had to stay more then 40 minutes in the MVD office in years... I've speant more time at resturants waiting for food.  They also have 11 desks for business, six of which are manned today. (Seven if you include the lady taking pictures.)  It used there be there were four desks and two people manning them at any given time.

It's amazing how people view things like that; I'm sure I'm guitly of it too.  Is it change that people don't like? I've been thinking alot about this subject since I'm told by a lot of older members of my church that we are living in wicked times and bemoaning that we aren't a nation of their youth..  Yet I read historical documents (Most recently about Deep Throat and the water gate scandle) that people have been up to no good for thousands of years. According to what I read most modern  presidents (Except Truman and Eisenhower) used the CIA to blackmail and cow their enemies, going as far back as the CIA existed. Amazing that.  That doesn't sound like a good thing to me; but I could be wrong ;-)

Maybe we should take a look sometimes at what is good about our time/place/era we live in and not think everything was better in the past. Sometimes that may be true but sometimes it isn't... For people like me, there is no way to go back to the fifties and relive such a golden era.  I'm a cynical Gen Xr so of course I'm just here to complain ;-) Not really, I just want people to see that there is good in now and not write our society totally off.  There are so many good things going on now; I wonder if our perceived view of life being more evil now isn't just that we 'see' more that is going on; information is much more open.

Yeah there are bad things going on; but there are good things too. I just want my elders to see that there are so many ways to reach people; so many ways to band together to fight the evil that society has to offer.  Look around and see the good (Like the banding together of denomonations and churches during hurricane Katrina) and not the bad.

I just get frustrated sometimes when people tell me there are no good Christians any more; except for those that are in constant bible reading and prayer.  Why did God expect us to ask if all we were suppose to do is cloister our self up in our bedroom? (Or whatever room you might use.)

..>Anyway< :-D  I'm out.

Pretty heavy topic for a day in the MVD :-D