Dan Antion

We Can Accept That – #1LinerWeds

Maddie and I crossed the street to let this guy stay where he was.

As we continue the roller coaster ride that is the response to the Corona virus, we have experienced lows and not-so-lows. I’m not sure we have anything that counts as a high point lately. We have emerged from the shortages caused by supply chain disruption and hoarders. We have distanced ourselves from others and, at the request/demand of our government, we have spent most of our time at home. We have acquired masks and keep them at the ready. We have supplies of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, M&Ms and beer – you know – essentials.

Last month, the State of CT began to allow some venues and businesses to reopen – a bit. Restaurants went from takeout only to limited seating. Non-essential retail stores were allowed to open. I was able to get my hair cut. Museums are beginning to open, libraries are allowed to open and State services are returning to operation. Still, everything is measured. Everything is proceeding at a pace that is slow and not necessarily steady.

One of the State services that is returning to operation is the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The service centers have been closed since March. There are backlogs of thousands of people who need licenses, registrations, titles, and exams. The DMV center near us will be reopening, with the following caveat:

“The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is now offering in-person, appointment only services for specific transactions.”

Instead of arriving randomly at the center, standing in a long line to get a number that defines our position in a different line, we have to make an appointment. We have to arrive at the building at a specific time, wait in our car until we receive a message, enter the building, and conduct our business.

I think we can live with that.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

Smokey on the move.
I’m guessing one of the birds left this behind.
Welcome home. This guy hangs out at the porch door.
“Why do you always book us in this bird & breakfast? The service is lousy.”
“Can I have a peanut?”
This is the bigger of the two baby bunnies in our yard.
Snoopy – looking for bugs for the kids.
Blue jay, snagging the squirrel’s peanut. This guy flew in from about 80′ 0″(24.38m) away – sharp eyes.
On duty.
Hi Snoopy.
Chippy, that peanut is bigger than your head.
ALERT – Walker Lady – ALERT!!
“Hi there. Maddie lets me hang out here.”
Jinx is heading out.
This is the smaller of the two bunnies.

75 comments

  1. Hi Dan – you seem to have taken the prudent road and are coping with care to yourself and to others. Making appointments seem to be the order of the day for the moment – unless one wants to brave the crowds … the basics are relatively easily available. Maddie seems the least concerned! Stay safe – Hilary

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    • Thanks Hilary. Maddie appears unconcerned, only because she’s checked the last item of the day off her list – sitting in the late afternoon. I think the appointment-only idea is great. I’m sure it will have its challenges, but I’m up for it. I have to get a new license in November.

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  3. One high point I suppose. Service make take longer to get an appointment but you likely won’t wait as long once you get to it. Sigh. Always cute animals. I love your little visitors.

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  4. I got a kick out of the essentials hoarded. Careful with the openings, my county has had the highest spike yet! So I don’t go very far very often. (I’d sure like to though).
    I looks like Chippy is going to have his hands full with that peanut!

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    • We are doing our best to move around a little but stay safe at the same time, GP. It’s a dance, but I think we’re getting good at it. I am always amazed when the chipmunks grab one of the big-boy peanuts.

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  5. Wonderful group of shots. Bunnies!
    As for Corona, I’m afraid it’s the same as everything else. Some do all, some do nothing and we all deal with the consequences. 1 in 100 Americans infected. That’s insane.

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  7. The last time I went to DMV I had to give up after a 2+ hour wait and went back the next morning an hour before it opened to get in line. I could live with an appointment. :-) I do find some of the rules interesting. For instance, I have a hair cut this morning at 10:30. To make an appointment between 9-12 you need to do it by calling. From afternoon to close, you can use the app. I even asked her to repeat it, I thought it was so crazy. Oh well, I want my hair cut so I’ll be in the parking lot 15 minutes before, attempt a call, and wait to be told to enter. :-) It’s definitely daylily season here too – enjoy. Maddie looks like she’s laying down on the job there, but she may need the practice for the heat and humidity that’s moving in. :-)

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  8. Lineups are a new reality, along with various shortages, long waits, and decreasing patience. The strangeness of this odd year continues.

    Toronto is now one of several cities in Ontario that has made face masks mandatory in public enclosed areas. Not surprisingly, some people are losing it because government control, blah, blah, blah.
    Funny. I don’t remember anyone protesting about the various government emergency relief programs introduced back in March/April to help people who had lost their jobs during this pandemic.

    Meanwhile, I continue to stay at home. Now, to my long list of things I’m grateful for, I’m adding air conditioning. It is HOT.

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  9. For some reason, Dan, the squirrels and the chipmunk in your post today spoke to me. Perhaps it was their postures or maybe it was was your fun captions. As for the re-openings, I am still doing my best to avoid people. I did have to get my car inspected, which in Virginia can be done at almost any service station, and had some brake work done too, but that did not involve much contact with others.

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    • I’m glad you like the critters, Mike. The heat around here has left them struggling to find food. We don’t mind feeding them. I took my wife’s car for an emissions test. Not too bad, but perhaps the scariest place I’ve been. I’m not sure when the waiting room might have been cleaned last.

      Stay safe!

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  10. Such a lovely and uplifting selection of photographs Dan. Here in Florida there is little to be pleased with. The Coronavirus is raging and the government says all is well. Have a wonderful day. Thank you for the beauty sent our way.

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  11. Thanks for those adorable photos and captions. Here in MA, many of us are staying home. Most wear masks when we get out. I’m still only doing what I absolutely have to do, which in my case involves working on my house. My range died, so my kitchen needs a remodel for many reasons too complicated and boring to get into. I’m terrified that I’m going to get partway into the remodel and then another shutdown will mean no kitchen for months. And I have two teen boys to feed. They eat a lot. Sigh. They also need the DMV as well as to finish driver’s ed. Honestly, I don’t know what our RMV is doing. My eldest is getting better at driving, but he’s not ready for his test yet. My second hasn’t asked for a permit yet. Thank God. Teaching one at a time is best.

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  15. Perhaps that should be the new normal for the DMV – designated appointments and waiting in the car (not standing for an hour) until notified to go into the building. Sounds like a good plan for everyone.

    1,000 bonus points for beer. Although I haven’t had any in awhile, that IS an essential. I may need to celebrate (any reason will do) with one over the weekend. Have a good Wednesday, Dan!

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    • I stocked up on Corona when they stopped brewing it in April. I am about ready to buy another 12-pack. I don’t actually drink that much, but I like knowing that I can. You know, for those days when the news makes you say, “I need a beer.”

      I hope this is a permanent change for DMV. I can imagine protests if they ever decide to go back to the endless line approach.

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  16. Another great gallery, Dan. I got a kick out of the ball glove. Definitely one of the birds left it behind. Probably a crow….Ack!! The walker lady–not seen her in a while. Strange thing yesterday–while I was talking to the outdoor kitties before they made their way to the front porch for supper, a blue jay divebombed from my roof to the porch. He took some cat food from the dish and then flew away. Great. Just what I need–blue jays attacking the cats. Maybe I had better put out some peanuts and pray for co-existence.

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  19. Love the “Bird and Breakfast” and the lone glove. Would love to see the bird who owns that glove!🤗

    Maddie has the right idea. Her work is done so why not nap? Too hot for anything else.

    Chippy and his peanut is hysterical! And Galloping Grandma seems to full of vim and vigor. Guess Maddie is never going to call a treaty with her!

    Slow and steady as it goes Dan. I’m not eager to rush in and be really sorry later.
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • I love it when the big birds show up at the Martin house. They look around and I can only imagine what they’re thinking. It was weird to see the baseball glove. There haven’t been any kids on the fields yet, just birds.

      Maddie’s “work” is convincing me or the Editor to go out in the heat and sit with her. In the afternoon, it’s usually me. I can deal with the heat better. And no, she’s not interested in normalizing relations with the WL. It seems Maddie has declared territorial rights that extend out a few hundred feet in all directions. The lady was a serious distance away from us, posing no danger.

      I am doing my best to move carefully. Stay safe, Ginger.

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  22. I was able to renew Pearl’s registration online, but the system wouldn’t let me renew Crystal’s registration online. That boggled my mind. I was finally able to get it renewed a month after it was due. I think they had a Skelton crew working to get the renewals processed and get the tags mailed out. Yeah!

    Having both cars due the same day isn’t fun!

    The bunnies, birds, and critters look cute and happy. Oh, someone is going to be missing that mitt. It looks like a good one! I hope the owner gets it back.

    Wouldn’t it be great if the new appointment system at the DMV proves to move people through the process efficiently and quicker than the way it was.😀

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    • I’m glad you got your registrations taken care of. It doesn’t make sense that one would work and one not, but that’s the nature of DMV – I guess they’re the same everywhere.

      Our car registrations and licenses are far enough apart to not cause any panic. My license is the next thing that’s due. They are extending them for 6 years now, so I can wait a little time to get that. This has to be better than the old way of doing business. Nothing was as dysfunctional as that.

      I was glad to see the mitt sitting up on a post. Hopefully the person that forgot it (or his mother) will show up.

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  23. Dan, with so many things happening that are hard to accept, it is nice to have a few we can. Malcolm got a haircut today and my daughter got her DL renewed yesterday. The DL office is accepting walk-ins, and there were only 6 people in the place (4 were employees). The barber is by appointment only and everyone wears a mask. It’s all very orderly and civilized. Life as it should be :-)

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    • It’s funny to see some of these places nearly empty. I’ve been the only person in the bar at our favorite restaurant the past three weeks. The bar itself isn’t open, but there are two tables and I appear to have claimed one of them ;-)

      I have an appointment for my second haircut since February, this Friday.

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  24. I had to get an in-person well-visit recently for a big discount on our insurance and it was done very well and carefully. However, when I’ve tried to get in touch with the DMV or whatever initials it goes by here, I’ve been on hold for over half and hour and then just hung up. They have third party places that can do licenses, plates, etc., but the one I called didn’t take appointments. You had to stand in line and my husband said no way. I’ll try again when I get back from Wyoming, but I think it’s pretty careless not to take appointments.

    Enjoyed the photos,

    janet

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    • I hope you’re able to secure an appointment when you return (and I hope you’re able to forget about it until then). I had to take one car for an emissions test. They do those at different garages all over the state. In the past, I’ve been able to make an appointment. Although the State website says you can make an appointment, none of the garages were accepting any. I waited about 30 minutes, but I was able to stay a comfortable distance away from the other customers (more than 6′).

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      • I got the e-checks and since you stay in the car almost the entire time, that wasn’t a problem. I’ll see how it goes once I get back. Perhaps one of the other third-party facilities takes appointments.

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  25. You reminded me that one of the things on my very long list is renewing my driver’s license. Ugh. This time I have to prove I haven’t gone blind or senile. Don’t know if I can pull that off!

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  26. I have never liked having a January birthday… until this year. I was able to take care of a lot of birthday-related deadlines and have a celebration get together that required no masks or distancing. We had no idea of what was to come… Restaurants, museums, and other venues opened up here then were shut down again after – who’da thunk – people started to get sick in record numbers.

    I know that Maddie isn’t happy, but it’s good to know that Walker Lady (I wonder if she’s a Ramp Person too?) is healthy and getting her exercise.

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    • I am impressed with her dedication to walking. I try to avoid her. I don’t know what Maddie is afraid of, but she goes crazy.

      I’m hoping they have things working well before my birthday in November. I wish I could say I hope this pandemic is over, but even I’m not that optimistic.

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  27. The gallery is fantastic. Wasn’t sure if you captured a chipmunk and a squirrel or just a squirrel. The little guy with the side stripes is a chipmunk right?

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  29. I’m just glad that shortages of things like hand sanitizer and TP are no longer a thing, for the most part. Sure, we all want the pandemic to be over, but we have to be smart about it and not rush it. (Glad that my state, Maryland, is doing so well.) Hope you and all of your readers take care, Dan.

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  30. Absofreakinlutely! We recently got our tags by visiting a kiosk in a vestibule, one person only, a machine, voila! Mentor was not so lucky with her new license. Long line in the heat. They were allowing three customers at a time in the lobby. Appointments would have been so much better!

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