Cross-section, Colorado

I was able to go to the DMV in Golden this week, purportedly a less busy and more well-off town. In fitting with the criteria of a DMV, a technical glitch was ongoing, therefore no processes could be started until they were running again.

The interesting thing about a DMV is that everyone must gather there at their determined time. Like death, the DMV seems to be a great equalizer; everyone had the same thing in common - we were in the same man-made State. I feel that makes it an unbiased sampling of the Colorado population. Not to mention it's a place where you can see all these different people wearing the same expression of frustration and anger.

I met one woman who called herself "Jessica of Illinois" who also had recently moved from out-of-state. She had another appointment to keep and I agreed to text her if things cleared up.

An elderly couple who were at least in their eighties sat across from me. The woman needed a photo ID despite her claim that she didn't drive anymore. Her head continually shook, whether from age or everlasting discontent, I couldn't tell. "I've been here since January," I exclaimed. "I didn't have a beard when I first entered!" She didn't laugh.

I was on the verge of hallucination and unconsciousness from having not eaten enough breakfast when Jessica of Illinois returned. She offered to buy a sandwich for me and I agreed to a bag of chips. Having lived in Fort Collins, a college town, I figure most of the people there were from other states. My short experience in Denver so far causes me to wonder if the majority of nice people in Colorado are transplants. Everywhere I go there is at least one disgruntled person who looks like they have always been here, and they are angry with services rendered by some employee or just at the general atmosphere. The switch has been flipped from reasoning to reptilian fight or flight (mostly fight, it seems).

One interesting person I observed was a teenager with a large body and baggy clothes, and a very small head that made his baby features seem squeezed like a lizard's physiognomy. His hair was like a samurai's, shaved with a folded bun on top. His expression looked so simple it was frightening.
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His mouth sprayed a mist of saliva when he opened it towards his food, anticipating. It was as if his body had no time for digestion, let alone the first bite.