What's in a Name?

When Jim's job was transferred to Houston, his company required him to establish a legal residence there. That included getting a new driver's license and registering his car in the state of Texas. He complained endlessly about the horrible lines he encountered at the Department of Public Safety office when he first went to get his license two years ago. In Michigan, everyone grumbles about long waits at the Secretary of State office, but seldom have I actually been there more than 30 minutes. Jim said at the Texas DPS, the lines were out the door and it took him almost two hours to reach the counter. To make matters worse, once he made it to the front of the line he didn't have all of the proper identification he needed so he had to make a second trip back to the over-crowded and under-staffed DPS. He did have his passport with him the first time, but the workers insisted on seeing his birth certificate, which is odd because in order to obtain a passport you need to present your birth certificate. Anyway, after two attempts and four hours of waiting time, Jim received his Texas driver's license and new plates for the car.

Fast forward to six months after the DPS debacle. Jim was at a blood drive at work making a donation. When it was his turn to head to the table, the nurse called out, "Anthony." No response. Again, "Anthony." Jim realized she was speaking to him and told her that his first name was James and his middle name was Anthony. The nurse said that, nope, his driver's license had his name listed as Anthony James. When Jim double checked, sure enough it was backwards. I have to admit that even I had peeked at his Texas license and didn't notice the error. Jim didn't think too much about it and, though I urged him to get it fixed, he had no desire to stand in line at the DPS again. Luckily, he had his passport to use every time he flew somewhere. Whenever he needed to show his driver's license, however, he was Anthony. It apparently posed no problems when Jim was selected for jury duty in Houston. At the casinos in Vegas, his player's club cards were printed out with the name Anthony. I even started calling him Tony. When we attended the "Price is Right Live" show, his name tag was written as Anthony. Time and time again, he was referred to by his middle name. Finally yesterday, Jim - aka Anthony - returned to the DPS and waited the seemingly-requisite two hours to have his name corrected on his license. I'm sure it was a fun ride having an alias, but today he is back to being James Anthony.