Those @#$%^ Government Bureaucrats — [/irony]

My disability parking hang-tags expired this month. (Don't ask why tags for a permanent disability ever expire; this is Texas, after all!) The Great State of Texas in its infinite wisdom requires a trip to the tax office at the county courthouse to renew the tags every four years.

The nearest county courthouse to our home is always a mob scene; I've never been there at midnight, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were lines twice around the perimeter hallway and out the door even at that hour. So it was with trepidation that I headed for the courthouse this morning.

I parked, staggered to the door (note: since I was renewing hang-tags, I couldn't hang one of them in the car, so the regular parking space I found in the jam-packed lot was not close to the building), and got in line. A state worker spotted me as I entered the line with my cane and my limp, smiled and redirected me to the one line (one of 15) reserved for disabled people. Then she sat in the chair herself, took my old hang-tags and created new ones for me... no fee, no forms (for me at least) and no fuss.

Five minutes later I was on my way, hanging onto my hang-tags, precious items that they are. Five minutes... I could recover that much time in a single instance of parking near the door of a big-box store instead of parking a block away and hobbling over that block.

Ah, those @#$%^ government workers... I hope they get a raise and a good retirement plan!