Virginia Girls, Best in the World?

The 1960s band, General Johnson and The Chairman Of The Board made generations of women born and bred in the Carolinas proud with the song,  “Carolina Girls.”

 If you’ve never heard of it, well, I’ll like to know where you’ve been for the last 30 years.

 Yes, I’m a flip-flop-and-pearls-wearin’, sweet-tea drinkin,’ beach vacationin’  Carolina girl and we’re the, “best in the world,” according to the song. .

The song lyrics say, Carolina girls are suppose to have ‘good looks’ and a ‘sweet personality,’ but all my sweetness went out the window a few weeks ago when I went through the stresses associated with getting my car registered in Virginia—the final step in my officially becoming a bonafide Virginian.

 Prior to February, I was under the impression I could continue sporting my South Carolina plates, because my car wasn’t registered to me. And a car not registered in the state meant I didn’t have to obtain the “coveted” Manassas Park vehicle decal, right? Wrong.

 It all started, when I returned home from a weekend vacation to, where else, but South Carolina and found a note in my apartment door from my landlords.

 The note explained that all tenants’ names and addresses were going to be turned over to Manassas Park City officials, so they could determine who was living in Manassas Park, but driving a vehicle without a decal,  Virginia plates or both.  

 Always, the journalist, I smelled a and decided to call the Manassas Park Commissioner of Revenue’s office to see what this was all about.

 Soon, I was in a meeting with city manager Jim Zumwalt, who lived in South Carolina once upon a time, and the commissioner of revenue Debbie Wood.

 Not only did I get my story, I discovered I was in direct violation of Virginia and Manassas Park law!

 “My car isn’t registered to me, so I don’t have to get a decal,” I said.

 “Are you the driver of the Honda?” Wood said, eyeing a document and a photo of my car.

 “Yes,” I said.

 “Well, according to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, this car is registered to a Jamie Rogers, if that is you,” Wood said calmly.

 I was shocked.

 First, because my car was registered to me, then by the fact a municipality even bothered to go around identifying all the cars without Virginia plates and city decals, and then by the fact the cars are being photographed.

 Wood explained that Manassas Park is a small city and that officials do all they can to gather the appropriate tax revenue.

 I understood and agreed that everyone should obey the law, but it was a lot to swallow at once.

 First the letter saying my name and address and that of all my neighbors was being turned over to the government, then discovering somebody was walking around taking pictures of my property.

 I’m not going to lie, I was feeling a little infringed upon. Just a little.

 I mean, I know people who have lived in South Carolina for years, all while driving cars with out-of-state-tags.

 Once, a relative of mind didn’t pay South Carolina property taxes on her vehicle for two years because she forgot.  No one in law enforcement or local government noticed.

I guess South Carolina government is a little lax compared to Virginia.

 Feeling a little frustrated, I contacted one of my Manassas Park friends Preston Banks, who is also a councilmember.

 “Preston! I feel like I’m living in a police state!” I said. “I mean, what kind of government goes around taking pictures of people’s cars and asking for their addresses?”

 “A good one,” he answered.

 Urgh. I should have known I wasn’t going to get any pity from him. I mean, he’s a politician for God’s sake.  I should have called my mother.

 But Preston and me talked a while longer and he gave me some great direction on how to get myself settled (legally) in Virginia.

 I had it down pat, as Zumwalt had kindly explained the process to me earlier because he’d recently had his registration switched over from Kentucky.

 I was still frustrated because I had to do a lot of running around and waiting.

 First the emissions check and the state inspection—neither of these things are required in South Carolina.

 My car barely passed because of the condition of my front tires. 

 Geez, the government regulates everything, down to the tread on your tires.

Why don’t they just tell me what color underwear to put on, too?

 Next, I had to buy a whole car new insurance policy because the policy I had didn’t cover residents of Virginia.

 More money, more paperwork and more waiting.

 Next stop, the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. This visit entailed the least amount of waiting and the most amount of paperwork, as I had to get a new driver’s license and do the whole car registration thing.

 It was actually an enjoyable experience, the folks at the DMV are really nice and they had me in and out as fast as they could.

 They also help me decided what kind of license plates I wanted.  The standard Virginia tags are just too plain for me, so I opted to pay a little more and get a decorative plate.  

 A few days later, I’d come full circle and was back at Manassas Park City Hall, waiting in line to buy my decal.

 I was proud to show Ms. Wood that I’d immediately complied with the law.

 A few days later my friend Seth along with Preston helped me do away with my old tags.

 It was a little sad, I guess. Because Virginia requires front and back plates, I had to get rid of my University of South Carolina tag on the front of my car.

 “Aww that’s your school, do you want to do the honors of taking the plate off?” Preston asked.

 “No, not really,” I said. It had been a long week and I was just ready to get the darn plates on my car before someone from the government decided to take another picture of my car and maybe arrest me.

 So now I guess I’m officially a Virginia girl, though the term doesn’t sound nearly as good as “Carolina girl. “

 But the point is, I made it through yet another transition and lived up to the lyrics of  General Johnson’s song.

 “You’re sure enough tough girl … California girls are sexy and New York girls are too, but Carolina girls got good looks and sweet personality too.”