627. Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in It

I have a story to tell you and I'm curious if anything like this has ever happened to you. I recently got a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles saying it's time to renew my driver's license. This is a letter that no one looks forward to receiving. In many places, the DMV is famously hard to deal with. Long lines, confusing protocols, et cetera, et cetera. But as I read the letter, I see there is a loophole. That if you are a member of Triple A, the American Automobile Association, which I happen to be, then you can renew your license at their office. And even better.

You can set up an appointment ahead of time. That was exciting. So I made my appointment online. Put it in my calendar. Got all my documents together. And I showed up.

On the right day, the right time. and found, to my surprise, a long line of people waiting for what looked to be just two or three clerks. I asked a couple people online what time their appointments were for, and they said they didn't have appointments. They had just walked in. And so I, being an optimist, I thought maybe there is a separate line for appointments. So I asked around and one helpful AAA employee told me. Yeah. No, the line is the line, is how he put it.

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