I’ve been job hunting with no success. Then a brilliant idea arose. School bus lines are always in need of drivers. I drove a bus for ten years but four years ago I down-graded my licence to a D thinking I’ll never drive a bus again.
In order to up-grade back to a bus licence, I’d have to get a medical. Although I don’t have a family doctor, any walk-in clinic will gladly give me a physical and complete the medical form for a fee of about $100.00 or more. I’d also have to write an exam for a cost of $10.00. Then there’s the road test for a cost of $75.00. Of course, before doing those tests I’d have to purchase a bus driver’s manual to re-fresh my memory about road laws concerning buses and what to look for when doing the daily check of the vehicle. Cost of the manual $20.00. And of course, a police check on my background would have to be done since I’d be working with children; a cost of $22.00. The bus company also wanted a driver’s abstract; a cost of $12.00. Total cost $239.00; and no doubt there’d be taxes heaped on the total.
Unfortunately, my brilliant idea fell through when I couldn’t prove my identity.
After showing my driver’s licence to the MTO clerk, she asked for a second piece of ID, such as a birth certificate.
I whipped out my little plastic birth certificate card. The clerk wasn’t satisfied because the name didn’t match the one on my driver’s licence. The birth certificate is in my maiden name; the driver’s license is in my married name. Well of course, the birth certificate is in my maiden name. That’s the name my parents gave me when I was born. Silly me I changed my name when I got married. What was I thinking?
The clerk asked for a marriage certificate. Proudly I showed it to her.
“That won’t do. It’s handwritten on paper.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what people use to do years ago. Hand write on paper.”
She slid a piece of paper to me with the web address of Service Ontario where I could apply for a plastic marriage certificate for a cost of $15.00. Her other suggestion was a passport. Mine was expired; cost for a new one $87.00 – 92.00.
Now the cost of my brilliant idea had reached $254.00 - $346.00. It would take several weeks to get everything, probably several more weeks waiting to be assigned a suitable bus route, and then more weeks to squeeze enough from the peanut pay cheque to cover all the accumulated costs. I left discouraged. The part-time driver’s job wasn’t worth the time, the money and the hassle.
But a thought cheered me up. Even though I couldn’t prove my identity to the MTO, God knows who I am. I’m a royal child of God’s, redeemed by Jesus’ blood and therefore an heir with Christ. And Jesus paid it all! Hallelujah!
