Hmmmm....

In this age of computers and immediate information, one would think that things would move along smoothly, but not so.  In some respects, the gears move slowly and uncomprehendingly, when the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.  That's the sort of thing that went on BEFORE the computer age.

For example:

1.  Once upon a time, my father had need of his birth certificate.  He drove to the county seat where he was born and asked for a copy of the birth certificate for Floyd Darwin Covill--his name at birth. They didn't have one.  They could produce birth certificates for his brothers and sisters, but not him under that name.  They DID have one for Darwin Erskine Covill, born on Dad's birth date.  I don't remember how that all turned out--if I ever knew--but it's pretty clear that either Grandma decided to change his name after his birth certificate was recorded, or someone filling out the certificate was asleep at the switch.  I think Dad was in his 50s before this was discovered.

2.  My daughter and grandchildren moved in with me for a time.  She registered to vote here in Hendricks County, Indiana.  Then, in 2009, she moved to California and registered there, then Illinois and registered there, and now Washington and registered there.  (We are a mobile society!)  I vote in every election, and every time I do, there is my daughter's name under mine on the voting roster, and every time, I tell the people at the poll that Megan doesn't live here anymore and hasn't for the last seven years.  Still, nothing changes.

Just a month or two ago, I received two post cards from the elections board--one for me and one for Meg--asking if we still live at my address.  I followed instructions and wrote on Meg's card that she no longer lives here and returned it.  I thought that would be the end of it.  But no...I later got a post card for Meg saying she could still vote in the election, even though out of state (absentee)...blah, blah.

Think about this for a minute.  Picture IDs have been required for voting in some states for a number of years now, but I don't think there is any central data bank that shows which registered voters have voted where.  Because of that, and in spite of the ID requirement in many states, I'm thinking that IF my daughter had wanted to break the law--which she doesn't--she could now apply for an absentee ballot for IN, IL, CA, and vote in person in WA.  People who cry "foul" at election time need not look at the voters but at the whole voting system to plug up the loopholes!

3.  My daughter tells me today that Lakes High School in Illinois called to inform her that Robin (her daughter) hasn't been in attendance at school.  True enough.  Robin doesn't live in Illinois anymore.  She withdrew from school there in order to move with her family to Washington State.  This isn't NEW news.  She withdrew last December!  Somehow, Lakes High School in Lake Villa, IL, didn't get the message from Palumbi Middle School in Lake Villa, IL, that Robin was withdrawn a whole semester ago!  Obviously, if they had communicated, or if someone were actually paying attention, they would have discovered this.  It could have saved them the trouble and the consternation they caused my daughter who wondered if they were ready to call the police to report truancy.  (Easy enough to verify, so no problem there...but still...)

I'm sure there are a zillion more examples of this sort of thing.  I hesitate to even bring up the whole health care system because I KNOW there are many slip-ups there.  It's just so unnecessary!  Link your computers, folks...then pay attention to them!