*****************************Well, here is my story. Many of you have been asking me what it was about and when was I going to write about it. After many months of going back and forth with issues surrounding this problem, I am finally in a lucid state through-out all the madness surrounding said ordeal and am in spiritual place where I can write about it without getting irate all over again. Before I begin, I want to encourage everyone reading this post to always keep all your paperwork in a safe place for an indefinite time, no matter what it may pertain to, because the proof it provides could come back to save you later in life. Trust me, I know!
As you know, I lived in the fair city of San Antonio for several years and came back in 1995 to be with my family in west Texas. This past April, the city of Midland-where I now reside-was hit by a terrible thunderstorm which brought with it lots of hail, large hail. I had to get a new roof for my home and the workshop in the backyard. During all of this my birthday came and went in June (yes, it took over 8 weeks to bring the roof issue to fruition); Sara and I even took my niece, Alex, and her friend, Danielle to San Antonio for the Vans Warped Tour in early July. Anyway, I forgot to renew my driver license on my birthday (June 23rd) and had to get Sara to drive me to the local DMV to get it renewed upon our return from the SA trip. I especially needed my DL because I was opening up a second banking account with Chase because my bank of over 15 years, Bank of America, was difficult to work with during the roofing fiasco so I was going to show them they were "personas non grata". Without a current DL I could not get another account, that was when I finally realized I had allowed my DL to expire.
Well, long story short, Sara drove me to the DMV and I waited in line for what seemed like hours, which is no surprise. I waited only to be told that my DL was flagged and not eligible for renewal. I was given an 800 number to call because the DMV did not know why I was denied the renewal.
Well, it turns out that the city of San Antonio, the city I loved and wanted to move back to one day, put the block on my DL. They (city) alleged that I had 2 traffic tickets that supposedly went unpaid so it showed me as "fta" (failure to appear). The tickets dated all the way back to October of 1993...YES, 1993!!! I fought the issue for months because it is so not like me to ignore such a thing. I don't mess around with the law and in the past, whenever I did get tickets, I paid them right away. To add, since those said tickets in 1993, I have never received a driving citation of any kind (knock wood). I spoke to an Attorney whose services I often use in Big Spring, Texas and to several other people. As part of the Pre-Paid Legal team, I even took advantage of the tools within our community as well. Turns out that in Texas, traffic tickets have no statute of limitations so they (TX) can go back as far as they want and charge people for tickets they (TX) allege are unpaid. Like I said, I fought it for months mainly because I did not agree that I had allowed the 2 tix to go unpaid. I was not willing to pay for something I did not believe I would have neglected. By this time, it was not a monetary issue but a matter of principle.
Half-way through arguing my case, I was no longer sure I would win. Since I did not want to drive to SA to appear before court, I first asked for "deferred disposition" and was granted it (10-01-09). I then got the mayor of San Antonio (his office staff) and some nice and caring City Council members involved and in the end I changed my request for "deferred disposition" to "deferred adjudication" (11-03-09). The fines for each respective traffic ticket were reduced by a lot (cannot say how much for obvious reasons). Since I did not want to drive to San Antonio for a court hearing and since I could neither provide proof of having paid the two tickets, I decided to meet them half way. I would be allowed to renew my DL as soon as I paid the fines and such which I did pay on 11-09-09 thanks to my Mom's encouragement. I was thankful to the City Council members who intervened on my behalf and to the Mayor for making sure my issue was handled.
The week before Thanksgiving Day, my niece, Erica, had a business/training trip in Austin so Sara and I went along with her. By going to Austin - our state capitol, where my driving record data was being stored via Omnibase, I could make sure in person that my record was cleared and I could then renew my DL in person. I also had a huge opportunity to work with the State of Texas so it was more important than ever by this time that I have my DL. I was indeed able to renew my DL by the end of that Austin trip. I was so nervous when I was getting it. I kept making stupid mistakes and kept waiting for someone to pop out from the back of the DMV office and tell me I was being punked or arrested. I left there like a kid in a candy store. I jumped up and down outside the office and hugged Sara and was laughing like an idiot - I am sure. I called my Mom first since she was my rock through-out this 4+ month ordeal. Then I sent a text to all my family & friends who knew the situation and were awaiting news about my DL renewal. Everyone sent a congratulatory text reply right away.
Last week I finally received my actual DL via snail-mail, and I showed it off to everyone and re-told the story to anyone who would listen to it. My loved ones were so happy for me as always and glad to see me driving again. So...think about what consequences we may endure when we throw away any paperwork, no matter how old it might be. Please, please, please, to everyone who reads this - keep my story in mind and tell everyone you know about it and hold onto your paperwork. I usually do that myself for taxes, medical purposes, insurance records, you know - the obvious. But it never occurred to me that I should have to hold on to proof of paid traffic tickets dating back to over 16 years. Going forward, I will hold onto all tangible proof for anything and everything. As unlucky as I thought I was leading up to all of this nonsense, I concluded that I was just as lucky for never having had an arrest warrant issued in the 16 years and for never having been arrested. My record was flagged but never issued a warrant; apparently it fell through the system and somehow popped up this year. I still stand tall and proud and will say that I know I paid the tickets in 1993.
In closing my dear readers, remember that in Texas and many other states, there is no statute of limitations for traffic tickets. Big Brother can and will come for you for anything they allege is not paid...it is up to you to prove otherwise if the occasion ever arises, and I hope it does not because it totally wreaks.
I bid you all well and...Remember The Alamo (the city and Dora's terrible ticket issue).
BTW: For those asking...YES, I still like the city of San Antonio.
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