Breaking the law

I've been a fugitive for the past two weeks. Like any criminal, I won't take the blame myself. I'll blame someone else... not my parents, or society, though. I'm blaming Chrysler Financial.

My Virginia license plates expired in August, which was fine since I was in Ohio by then. When I went to get Ohio plates, the nice lady at the DMV (never thought I'd use those words together) explained I needed the original title changed over from Virginia to Ohio. I got a temporary 30-day tag, and all was well with the world.

I left with the appropriate paperwork, which needed faxed to Chrysler Financial's offices. I spent about an hour on the phone -- "Your call is very important to us" -- waiting to find the appropriate fax number. Upon getting it, I faxed the information to their offices in Michigan.

Then I waited. A lot. When the 30-day period expired, I checked with the title office, which said they hadn't received the title yet. When I checked with Chrysler Financial -- "Your call is important to us" -- apparently my fax wasn't as important as my call. They couldn't find any record of my request to send the title to Ohio. I had to file another one.

Fine. I got another 30-day Ohio tag. I already had the fax number, so I sent it out to them again. Again, I waited.

Again, the tags came close to expiring. I returned to the DMV and found a woman not nearly as kind served me. She informed me Ohio wouldn't give me another set of 30-day tags. I could drive until they expired, then I'd be in violation of the law.

That's when I became a criminal. That's also when I became irate with Chrysler Financial -- "Your call is important to us." When I called to find out what the holdup was, they informed me they had no record of my request. At that point, I asked the person on the phone to MAKE a record of my request, and I had to fax them the same form for the third time.

That's when I became a law-breaker, on Nov. 5. My temporary tag expired, and my Virginia tags had long since become extinct. I decided to save myself trouble, I'd avoid driving on highways, just tooling back and forth to work.

Every time I saw a police officer, I panicked. I had one follow me for several blocks coming home from work, and I was convinced I was sunk. I doubted having an expired Virginia plate and an expired Ohio temporary tag would impress them, no matter the reason.

Fortunately, Chrysler Financial finally came through for me earlier this week. The title office received the title, and I found the time to go in there and get everything straightened out. I'm proud to say I'm a legal Ohio driver once again, complete with a driver's license (missed four questions out of 50... slipping from my old college days) and plates.

But for two weeks, I was a rebel... a lawbreaker... a fugitive, trying to avoid the man... Sadly enough, this is probably the best "me against Johnny Law" story I'll ever be able to tell my grandkids.

COMING SOON... A fairly major announcement on the job front.