Proof of ID

Proof of ID

I I planned my business at the bank for their least busy hour, so I could cash a small check quickly and get to my next appointment on time. But what I expected to be a quick transaction turned into a long drawn-out process.

“I’ll need another form of ID,” the teller said when, along with the endorsed personal check from my longstanding account at the bank, I handed her my driver’s license.

“A current driver’s license isn’t enough?” I asked.

“It is not enough,” she insisted, clearly irritated by my question. She needed a second form of ID with an expiration date. No photo, no signature, simply my name and an expiration date.

When I finally found something acceptable, the teller held the no-photo, no-signature ID up to the light and ran her fingertip along the expiration date. She nodded but still showed both forms of ID to her supervisor for approval.

Eventually I received my cash, along with a scowl from the supervisor.

“You’re telling me that a driver’s license with a current photo that matches the face you are looking at was not sufficient for the teller to prove my identity?”

“That’s what I’m telling you.” she snipped.

In hindsight, I imagine someone could have forged a license with a different photo, but how does an expiration date on a second ID prove that? Or maybe someone could have disguised their appearance enough to resemble a photo on someone else’s license… but really?

Search me, Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Amen.