And, back to Los Angeles….

I recently returned to L.A. for the sole purpose of renewing my California driver’s license. I hope this will be my final foray into the famous (or infamous) California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Under California law, drivers of a certain age no longer qualify for an automatic renewal. It is now required to take both the written and vision tests, which I last took five years ago. I am still having nightmares over that day.

First, I was traveling and had to wait until two days before my birthday for an appointment at the DMV. When I checked in, I was turned away immediately because the...