One and a half hours at the Satellite City Hall later, I have a renewed-for-eight-years drivers license. There was a $40 fee to the State of Hawai’i plus an earlier $5 fee for a notary to attest that I am Linkmeister and $25 to the State of California’s Department of Public Health for a certified copy of my 67-years-ago birth certificate. I’m gonna be legal till I’m 76!

Getting a driver’s license is more complicated than it once was since Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 following the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Americans now must carry a Real ID, which is, as of Jan. 22 of 2018, required to get on an airplane.

Starting January 22, 2018, passengers who have driver’s licenses issued by a state that is not yet compliant with REAL ID and that has not received an extension will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel.

My passport is long since expired, I have no military ID, and Hawai’i is compliant. Thus, I had to get a license with a gold star signifying I’d met the requirements for a Real ID.

The birth certificate I have is an uncertified photostat deemed unacceptable by the State of Hawai’i (I went down a month or so ago and showed it to them). So I had to get a certified copy from my state of birth. I was born in Oakland/Menlo Park in California, so I had to write to that state’s Dept. of Public Health and pay them a fee for the hassle. They wanted their request form notarized for fear any old schmoo could claim to be me and get a copy.