It looks like the saying that the apple never falls far from the tree came true today in a special way. And I must be grateful to my Grandma and my Mum for instilling in me the habit of keeping things organized and preserved properly, because 'you never know when you may need it again!' So true!
This morning as I drove to Musoma to start the process of getting replacements of my residence permit, ATM cards, driving licence, rental post office box cards etc - all these were stolen in Stockton, CA, on that feral last Sunday of October - I found myself at one point at the Musoma Central Police Station.
The officer on duty told me to to produce the police report from Stockton (which I had on me) and the examination papers when I did exam to obtain Tanzanian driving licence. Well, this I did in 1991! Easy to calculate that it was 19 years ago! So, I had to postpone the process of applying for a replacement of my driving license till I find those exam papers.
I drove back home positively upbeat that I would find the papers in question, humming under my nose to the tune of the song that just came to my mind...
Upon arrival home I went to my office and checked the private filing cabinet. The short course in domestic archeology, going through countless folders, commenced. Then, after a few minutes of searching...voila! There they were! In the folder named 'LICENSES' I found the papers intact and in a good condition as I never removed them from the file so far.
A good advise. Never throw anything that you may need one day in the future. Especially if you happen to live and work in Africa. Not every government sector has been digitized and computerized so far. My case shows it quite clearly. Instead of punching in my name in the computer system in the police station, I have to prove to them that I had in fact my driving license - and this is done by producing the examination paper dated 7 of May 1991.
Thank God my Grandma and Mum worked in the Archeological Museum.
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