Driver's License

RBXChas

On a side note, I'm 25 and the check out lady at the grocery store almost didn't let me buy alcohol because my hair looked different in my picture (slightly more red were her words, and curley). That day it was straight. I don't color my hair so it couldn't have been that off. Geesh I seem to always be questioned about my license. lol

That's insane! Then again, my ex-husband and I were in Boston a couple of years ago (when we were still together) and he wanted to buy beer at the grocery store across the street from our hotel (in an area with about 6 or 7 other hotels). The lady at the cash register almost refused to sell it to us because we weren't from "Mass" and so they don't know what the driver's licenses look like. They have books for that! I've seen them. Then she asked me if I was over 25 (my ex is a few months younger than me), and I was, so she sold it to us. Without looking at my DL. It was so weird.

When I was 21 or so, I moved from NJ to Michigan, and I had returned home to my parents' house in NJ and met up with an old friend, who lived in PA. We went to the liquor store to pick up some wine for a girls' night (since only liquor stores can sell alcohol in NJ - you can imagine my surprise when I moved to MI and could buy it in the supermarket), and they carded me. They looked up my MI DL to make sure it coincided with their DL book, but since I was out of state, they needed to confirm that my friend was over 21 as well. They also did not like that she had a PA license (I guess it didn't help that although she was 22, she looked about 16) but sold it to us anyway. I have no idea what they would have done had she not been with me... I mean, it was my valid license!

I am 30 now and still get carded from time to time, but only at the grocery store/Costco, since I think they are required to card you. I don't buy alcohol when I'm out anywhere because it's too expensive. If I'm ever drinking outside of my house, it's at someone else's house or at some even where it's an open bar anyway

RBXChas

On a side note, I'm 25 and the check out lady at the grocery store almost didn't let me buy alcohol because my hair looked different in my picture (slightly more red were her words, and curley). That day it was straight. I don't color my hair so it couldn't have been that off. Geesh I seem to always be questioned about my license. lol

That's insane! Then again, my ex-husband and I were in Boston a couple of years ago (when we were still together) and he wanted to buy beer at the grocery store across the street from our hotel (in an area with about 6 or 7 other hotels). The lady at the cash register almost refused to sell it to us because we weren't from "Mass" and so they don't know what the driver's licenses look like. They have books for that! I've seen them. Then she asked me if I was over 25 (my ex is a few months younger than me), and I was, so she sold it to us. Without looking at my DL. It was so weird.

Also, I meant to say that yeah, they do have books for that. I am a real estate attorney, and we have those books on hand, since we are required by law (PATRIOT Act) to check IDs for things like real estate closings. It also helps prevent identity theft. When I worked in the Atlanta area, I got a GA driver's license that looked questionable, and I compared it not only to my own real license but also to the book (the book also shows old licenses, etc., in case the design has changed since a client's license was issued - it also shows Canadian licenses, since I wouldn't necessarily know at first glance whether one was real or not) to determine that it was not a real driver's license. It was uncomfortable, but I had to go back to the client and tell him that I needed a passport, military ID, etc., as some other form of government-issued ID. The guy told me he'd have to go home to get that, and (surprise, surprise) he never returned. To this day I'm still glad I faced the uncomfortable situation and didn't let the closing happen, since my suspicion is that it had something to do with identity theft. I couldn't be 100% sure enough of that to report it to anyone, but I wish I had.