DMV Papers Head South of Border

Well, “Redondo” is Spanish.

In November, Todd Mecklem of Redondo Beach sent the payment for his car registration but received nothing in return. He finally went to a local DMV office and was given his registration and tags.

Then, some weeks later, an envelope containing the original DMV materials arrived, still sealed and postmarked Dec. 4 in Sacramento.

What happened? Mecklem sent me a copy of the back of the envelope, which has a darn good clue: a second postmark (Dec. 22) and the words “Servicio Postal Mexicano.”

Yes, the DMV papers went south of the border for a little vacation.

MORE POSTAL ADVENTURES: Douglas McFerran of Woodland Hills forwarded a neighbor’s election ballot that was initially missent to the Persian Gulf (see accompanying). Wonder if any Florida ballots wound up there?

THANKS FOR THE WARNING: Rudy Grimaldo of San Fernando saw a coupon that advised the bearer not to expect much (see accompanying).

STUPID DRIVER OF THE DAY: On his way from Lakewood to Pasadena, T.C. Cirillo found himself “following a dirty white van. I noticed the rear doors were ajar and were bent and tied together with a rope to keep them closed. As I passed on the left side, it was obvious that the van had rolled over (metal scrapes on the side and roof lines).

“As I passed the van, I glanced over to see the driver. I swear, the front window was missing and he was wearing a hard plastic eye shield (similar to the ones worn by gardeners or dental/medical techs) that flip up and down. He was using it in place of a windshield.

“The funny part is, so was his passenger.”

Cirillo, who was living in Lakewood at the time, now resides in Seal Beach. I forgot to ask him if that incident had anything to do with his moving.

A COUPLE OF BIRDBRAINS: Dan

Fink of L.A. had his strangest driving experience in Orange County on the Santa Ana Freeway, where he saw “a young man driving a well-maintained 1966 Ford Mustang, in the middle lane, at the speed limit, with a white cockatiel or similar bird species standing on the steering wheel, right at the top of the wheel.

“The bird was gripping the wheel with its claws. As he turned the wheel, the bird inched sideways left or right, maintaining its position directly at the top of the wheel.”

At least this car had a windshield.

A CONFESSION: My purpose in collecting these sightings, as is probably now apparent, is to reduce traffic by convincing readers that the roadways out there are too scary. (Tomorrow: The case of the missing wheel.)

miscelLAny:

A postal flier with some contradictory driving requirements was provided by Toni Saldivar of Morongo Valley (see accompanying). By the way, I wonder if there’s extra credit for driving experience in Mexico or Kuwait?

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.