illegal zits!
Belgium can be a strange place.
When you get your driver’s license in Belgium, it’s for life. It never has to be renewed. Doesn’t matter how old you are… if you passed the test when you were 18, as I did in 1971… they figure you’ll never forget which foot to put on the clutch and which goes on the brake, and you’ll be a good boy and keep abreast of all the changes they’ve made to the rules over the years…
Well, finally some Eurocrats got together and decided that if you’re gonna be driving outside the country, your picture needs to look at least like it was taken this century… so I decided I better get mine renewed…
I asked them if they’d let me have the old one cause it’s got some nostaligic significance… like the stamp that banned me from driving in germany for 6 months for speeding…
Of course they said no. BUT… the nice lady at least took the trouble to unglue my original photo (wasn’t much glue left after all those years!) and let me keep it.
As she handed it over, she smiled and asked me what happened to the zits… ?!
Marion Cullen
LOL – Some things just keep getting better with age don’t they BB?
Thanks for sharing, this made me smile (They let us keep our old ones here in Oz, but thank God mine are all locked in a vault somewhere!)
billyboy replied
Hey Marion!
Cheers for comparing me to a bottle of premier cru!
Actually it`s more like Mötley Crüe… and you should see the contents of MY vault!!!
xo
Peter Hill
Gee, having a birthday 2 days before Christmas! That must have either sucked totally or been a rockin’ week!
billyboy replied
Funny you should say that Peter… my parents had a problem with those two events being back to back, so they changed my Bday to September 23rd. Go figure. It was kinda cool at the time as I had nothing going on in September except back to school.
But enough was enough… changed it back when my mom & dad moved back to the US.
Hey wait… it was my birthday two days ago… AND I MISSED IT!!!!
Farras Abdelnour
very interesting – thanks for sharing :-)
billyboy replied
Farras, you`re more than welcome!
Rachel Davison
Very cool : )
billyboy replied
Cheers Rachel!
Mel Brackstone
I was going to suggest you get everyone to upload their licences, but it’s prolly not a good idea to give away their identities! Lic numbers can be used for all sorts of things, as can date of birth….
Anyway, out of “Mum” mode…..thanks for sharing, I can’t imagine having the same photo for 40 odd years on a licence! The hair styles of the 70’s really were somethin, weren’t they? :)
billyboy replied
Shucks, I kinda dug you in “Mum” mode…
Tell ya something, I used to BLOW people away when I showed them my driver`s license! Fortunately they don`t really use that much here for ID… don`t even know if a cop has ever asked to see it. If they had, I`d prolly still be in jail!
xo
Shanina Conway
lol! glad she allowed you to keep the pic,and it must have been a nightmare using it for ID purposes …very liberal laws, we have to have it renewed every 5 years in Oz;)
billyboy replied
Hey Shanina!
SHE should actually be glad she let me have the pic… if she hadn`t I would have trashed the place!!
xo
funkyfacestudio
I like your new one better ! good choice. I just did mine after 8 years, the last one looked good and this one looks like hell….........I’m stuck with it for 4 years ;(
billyboy replied
What? You like me better without the zits??
And don`t be so stoopid. There can be no pic of you that looks like hell. Even if you had bunches of zits. They`d probably actually be pink crystals anyway…
Kinda wish I could be a Chicago traffic cop for an hour just to pull you over and have a look!!
xo
Jewd
Ha Ha…good on you BB…. How strange…there thinking of holograms now to track our identities…all of us in 4D Glory..how horrifying…don’t worry, by the sounds of things Belgium will get around to that next century…ta for sharing this
billyboy replied
Holograms? Yup, believe we`ll see them here in 2025…
♪ ♫ … if man is still alive…♪ Remember that song??
Wow… the idea of my mug in 4D… that`s probably the whole reason the Belgians are holding back!!
Cheers for the smiles!!
Scott d'Almeida
cool,,,,
billyboy replied
What? My zits??
Paul Louis Vil...
hehe! :D
billyboy replied
Hey Paul!
I so love it when you chuckle!!
Bet you`d look a groove in hologram, yeah?
Cadence Gamache
Hahaha! Oh my! I can’t decide who is cuter, Big Billy or Little Billy! Both are total stud muffins =]
Also, William Funk is the coolest name in the entire world. I’m sure you get that a lot, though =]
billyboy replied
Wow. Stud muffin… wish I`d known that back in `71…. :-)
Funny about my name… you couldn`t give it away 40 years ago. Funk was the sound that Don Martin`s characters in Mad Magazine made when when they shoved a key into some guy`s stomach to wind him up…
Then came the music. Now I tell people I play bass and work in a recording studio, and they just look at me like really weird and walk away… it`s true I tells `em… IT`S ALL TRUUUUUE!!!!!
xo
Wanda Lechene
lol that is a great story lol i cant belive she ask you that lol
billyboy replied
Didn`t surprise me at all Wanda… she had more zits than you could shake a blemish stick at, and she was older than ME!!
Thanx for stopping by! xo!!
lightsmith
LOL
billyboy replied
Lightsmith, I`ve been slowly working my way down this list of comments and couldn`t wait to get to yours…
Like you TOTALLY blew me away with this amazing job on such a hopeless face!!!
You deserve a medal. But you didn’t have to take the bullet holes out of my chest… they`re kind of a part of me now…. feel kinda naked without `em…
Dude, you SO rock!!
AnGeLLe
That is so cute!!! :)
billyboy replied
Cheers… yer not so bad yerself!! :-)
Tracey Mac
Don’t you love how it’s ok to smile in your licence mug shot these days?
In this part of Oz, you can get a licence for 10 years, so I’m wondering how much longer I’m gonna be recognisable on my photo ID, and I still have a couple of years left until renewal!
In the case of your new license, love how you’ve got nothing to hide and that you would post this to give everyone a good giggle at your old zits and that wonderful do…...(see they did finally go away!) but I also love the new mugshot, and how you look as though you’ve just done something you’re quite pleased about, moments before it was taken ;)
Cool take BB, and how trusting they are in Belgium with an everlasting license!
xox
billyboy replied
Wow, you mentioned the hairdo!!!
Kinda weird though as my hair was reddish blond… and what happened to the collar of my jacket on the right side? I`m talkin like BEFORE Lightsmith touched me up! And WHERE was I to get in front of that weird backdrop? Think it was a mugshot from when they booked me for possession of spanish fly (ridiculously illegal in Belgium at the time)... can vaguely remember the judge saying I could use the pic for my driver`s license as it was so farken cute… you know, with the zits and stuff… that judge… she was kinda bent… never found out what happened to the fly…
As for my NEW mugshot… I HAD just done something cool moments before it was taken. Just can`t remember what it was!!
And I think it`s more a case of laziness than trusting as regards the Belgian administration…
You got another couple of years? No probs gorgeous… just smile. They`ll melt…
xox
billyboy replied
And thanx for the fav!!!
jacqleen
awwwwwwwwweeee..Okay, first of all even with those zits..YOU were a HOTTIE….. :)
and now you are just HANDSOME :)))) but I loveeeeeeeeeeeD the story and it made me SMILE ear to ear…
Thank YOU so much for sharing this with US…! and I’m soooooo glad YOU got to keep your old pic…not to mention the fact that YOU passes your test after all these YEARS :))) lol
billyboy replied
Thanks for that Jacqleen!
If I can retrospectively look hot with zits, be handsome now, pass the test… AND make you smile ear to ear all in the ame day with the same JE, then I done good then, yeah?
And yer such a gem for faving this silly bit of fun!!
XO2U!
Anne McGinn
this made my day BB, totally. It was the only thing clever enough to put a smile in my heart. As for zits, I have more now at 53 than I did at 17…. unfortunately. And btw – your new foto is gorgeous – you turned into a real looker, mister:)
billyboy replied
OK Ann, if you had no zits at 17, then you have no zits now. Zero + zero = zero, right? Anyway, most everyone who`s commented on this thinks zits are groovy anyway, so even if you had masses of `em, you`d still be gorgeous, right? And even if you didn`t think you looked groovy with zits at 53, you got something to look forward to when you`ve outgrown them at 85… right??
Lady, you just put a smile on MINE!
xo
James Birkbeck
cool! but it might be a good idea to black out things like your license number and signature and other such details. the internet is rife with identity thieves. 2 of my online friends have found themselves victims in just the last few days!
billyboy replied
You`re right James… ID theft is something we tend not to worry about until something happens. Seems we even need to shred anything with personal data on it before chucking it in the garbage… which makes me wonder what lengths people will go to… like with the cat litter and stuff, our grabage is pretty damn yukky. At least if they manage to get me that way, I`ll have the satisfaction of knowing he smelled like cat piss for at least a couple of hours…
Thanks for the tip!
Christer Fribrock
Huh, strange the driving licence look so different in Belgium and Sweden. Mine is credit card sized super hologram with a chip baked into it. It also have an EU symbol printed on it.
Here is a sample!
I guess it must have been
I guess it must have been Karl Williams!
// Hope you’ll ever forgive me for this one mate ;0) , I just couldn’t help myself! //
Chris
billyboy replied
Chris, I gotta say… the pic on your driver`s license looks less like you now than mine did from `71… guess the Swedish cops aren`t too fussy… or maybe they don`t see too good?
But I can def say that you look like you needed more sleep when they took that shot… and how did you get your ears to stick out like that??
Nuthin to forgive mate… you totally got me smilin’!!
Christer Fribrock
Here
Sorry mate…
Chris
Christer Fribrock
Now then!
Chris
billyboy replied
Is that Snowflake? Is he still alive??
Wow…
sandra22
BB….this is a gorgeous recount, thanks for the share…love your photo and that of the ‘handsome’ fellow with the drop dead gorgeous smile above hehe…..sigh sandra ;-()
billyboy replied
Sandra, I so dig the way you sigh…
Handsome? Drop dead gorgeous?? I`d normally ask you nicely to slip on yer glasses… but I`m kinda liking the way you choose your words…
Jeeze, what a lovely comment!
xo
Katy Breen
Oh so clever, and definitely put a smile on my face this evening!! You look fantastic in your new photo, and I do love your spiky hair lol!! You’ve come a long ways from the original, and I must say, you’ve aged well, be proud!! Katy :)
billyboy replied
Katy, my spikey hair may look cool, but it`s actually dangerously sharp… my mom likes patting me on the head and last time she cut herself… wears leather gloves now when I come to visit, and that`s a sacrifice as she`s down in Florida…
OK, I`ll stop being stoopid. That`s a fine compliment and you made me feel proud and you`re a total doll for saying that!
xo
Robyn Lakeman
That’s incredible you have the same photo ID all your life. You’re still cute billyboy even without the zits ;)
billyboy replied
Hi Robyn… did I ever tell you how wicked your avatar is?
Actually, the Belgians don`t use a driver`s license for ID as we`ve got proper ID cards which are credit card size and they have a chip with all your stuff on it… having said that, the pictures are very poor quality and the print`s way too small for anyone over 35…
and if you think I`d look even cuter with zits, I`ll stuff my face with Belgian Chocs this weekend…
xo
Roslyn Lunetta
great story, but I a still focused on the birthday change and also would like to get a look at the ones who first got id’s back in the 40’s and 50’s…..
billyboy replied
Yeah, the birthday thing would have left a deep scar on anyone else… but I just went with it and had a bunch of rockin Septembers!
And I think any that were done in the 40`s or 50`s would have lost their pics by now as the glue was dodgey even in the 70`s!
Roslyn Lunetta
oooh and forgot to ask how the jersey boy got to belgium…
billyboy replied
My dad worked for Merck & Co. in Rahway NJ and was transferred to Brussels. He was a data processing coordinator and travelled throught Europe setting up IBM systems for Merck in different countries. Can`t imagine what I`d be doing now if I`d stayed in Jersey… probably be riding some big fat Harley with 6 kids living in a trailor. Yikes!!
Thanks for the smiles Roslyn!!
xo
lightsmith
LOL. I definitely don’t want any bullet holes in you – you’re too valuable!
billyboy replied
Pretty cool of you to day that…
and btw, cheers for the fav!!!
imageofpix4u
Cuz Zits dah rules man. :)
billyboy replied
Ya got dat right bruddah!!
tjtalent
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing that…made me giggle a bit! x
billyboy replied
Cool. Didn`t even have to tickle ya!!
xo!
Roslyn Lunetta
lololol me, I grew up in Westchester in the heart of ibm land, kinda fun being ahead of the curve even way back in the 70’s and 80’s, what fun it must have been fun in hindsite wandering the countries of Europe. as for the birthday tweeking you….ummm did you notice your spiky hair ;) my kid is a december birthday, she is 1/2 japanese and born on 12/7 so we have had birthday issues here, my brother is also a december birthday the way my mom did it was no xmas until all the birthdays were done.
and your welcome for the smiles, do you have ice cream trucks out and about there?
billyboy replied
Yup, and they`re real Italians!!
Roslyn Lunetta
:) hey meee tooooo!!! well at least 1/2…
billyboy replied
Cool. Betcha eat LOTS of icecream!!
Christer Fribrock
I tried to refer to “Karl Williams”http://www.redbubble.com/people/shuggie .
My drivers licence from 1978 was even worse! I had a night out and was tremendously hangover, early mug at 09:30 am,drive to the photographer on my moped (!) in rain, coke bottle glasses, thin hair, big zit in between my eyes .. and a silly grin from loosing my cheery the night before Priceless !! There is no software invented yet to correct anything of this.
I had this driving license for some 10 years and now it’s gone… Well, well… sweet memories ;0)
Chris
billyboy replied
Just goes to show you Chris… when you’ve got an amazing portrait, ALWAYS make sure you save a copy… especially when it marks such a landmark occasion as losing your cheery!!!
As for ol’ Karl, it’s living proof that gorillas are every bit as good at photography as us…
Thanx for the laugh mate!
Squealia
LOL they were some zits! You could dip your toasted soldiers in them!!!! hahaha!
billyboy replied
You know Celia, I could just dig a plate of zit dipped soldiers right now…
Does this mean I’m bent?
Breakfast will NEVA be the same after that amazing comment!!
xo
Roslyn Lunetta
aahh still up I see, as for eating ice cream, nope, weigh 100lb, no room for anything but ice cream lady’s fav, dark choc haaagen-dazs…yuummmm
billyboy replied
Yeah? Well I’m only 140 which for a guy only leaves room for icecream too… I do a mixture of Haagen Dazs Cookies & Cream with ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough… doesn’t get much better than that. Cool we’re in the same club!!
Robyn Lakeman
Hey BillyBoy, yes you did mention my avatar before ;) I was talking to a guy out from England last night and he said they don’t have ID cards and have to take their passports everywhere to get into pubs to prove their age. His sister had lost hers 7 times and they wouldn’t give her another one. Hehe at the zit comment :)
billyboy replied
SEVEN TIMES??
Wow. That means there’s 7 illegal Armenians somewhere in England carrying her ex passport… which is probably why they won’t give her another!!!
It is surprising that they make you carry your passports over there. It’s the one document that is most vulnerable of getting ripped off, and one of the most difficult to replace. Keep mine safe in a drawer till it’s time to travel again.
Thanks for breezing back Robyn. And yeah, something about the colors and artwork on your avatar… it’s like I used to collect phone cards, and once in a while a cool rare one comes along with a really cool pic on it and it’s a focal point of attraction in my album… That’s what I feel when you visit my comments pages. Plus the fact you say cool stuff…
Hope to see you again soon!!
xo
mikepaulhamus
lost for words… priceless !
billyboy replied
So was I when I heard we beat the Sox 9-5!!!
Thanks Mike… always cool when you pass by!
Roslyn Lunetta
haahaa, now is it pints or bars, I also have a Ben and Jerry vanilla almond cone that once you have had, you can never ever have another nutty buddie…I actually give that warning before I sell it.
billyboy replied
You SELL icecream??
clarkey
Lol, I really don’t know where to start on this one, Billy – it has me laughing, scratching my head (yeah, the sawdust is falling out!) and wondering what I can say that hasn’t already been said.
I guess I’ll start with your info above your licence pic. If you got your licence in ‘71, you were 20. If you got it when you were 18, you must have gotten it in ‘69 – someone screwed up their numbering bigtime!!! And I have trouble with numbers – my brain thinks they come from another dimension which has nothing like this one in it!
Illegal zits? Now, that’s a good one, it really made me laugh – wouldn’t it be every teenagers’ dream if they could go take their acne to court and have it declared illegal and thus banished to . . . .somewhere? Although where escapes me at the moment – can’t think for laughing. Yeah, you were cute but you look rather worried by something. I’m glad you were able to keep the photo even if they wouldn’t let you have the whole thing which seems rather odd. down here, In Ozland) we get to keep our old, experied licences. You should have told that nice lady you now “too big” for zits! We’ve had photo licences for over 10 years now – they’re the same size as a credit card and have a textured surface which makes copying them difficult. I think they’re probably made from the same stuff as a credit card, too but, I wouldn’t like to bet on that.
Now we come to the new BB! That is such an amazing pic: your eyes are so intent and piercing, it’s almost as if you can see through everything you look at – a bit like Superman and his x-ray vision! Then that wicked little Mona Lisa smile. it’s an even better smile than the cat which scored the canary. Hmmmmm, what did you do just before it was taken? Down here, we aren’t allowed to take our own pics, they’re taken at the point where you go to renew your licence (which is about every 10 years, you can choose how many years between renewals, up to a maximum of 10). They are often the pic most people are most afraid to show anyone, we can end up looking like felons.
Then, last but not least, there’s those unmistakable BB spikes. Gotta love ‘em, it let’s everyone know that it really is you.
Thanks for the amazing tale (you kissed the Blarney Stone again) and the laughs, they are most appreciated.
billyboy replied
Wow Jannie! Never expected this…
But it is amazing with you. That you so involve yourslef in my stories is fun, and yeah, that quesiton of dates is way bizarre. I know I was driving at 18 cause I rode my Triton to school in my senior year, but the license says i got permission in 71 when I was 19-20. Can only thiink I had a provisional for a year… or something. It was LONG ago Jan, and that’s a detail I’ve long since forgotten!
And I guess that worried expression was just the tension of not knowing whether I should get the bullet wounds attended to, or get the pics off to the license bureau so I could drive my date to the club…:-)
And yeah, I can see through lots of things Jan… and I see you inside as being an amazingly honest and open soul. I love the way you communicate and the detail with which you delve into my silliness. It’s been such an awesome delight knowing you!
xox
Roslyn Lunetta
yes, yes I do off a vintage 1976 good humor truck that spent its whole life in long island until O brought it up here in 2007…
billyboy replied
That is truly amazing!
And I’ll have one lemon Italian Ice please!!!
Jason Moses
You look a lot more fierce these days, Mr Funk.
billyboy replied
Yeah, but it`s OK cuz I got less zits!
Irish
LMFAO :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
billyboy replied
Is that alls you got to say??
So how much does your driver’s license pic look like you?
I bet there ain’t one plus-40 Joisey traffic cop that wouldn’t pull you over and say ‘Jeeze Sabrina!! Can I have yer autograph baby?!?’
xo!
Irish
ok the funny part of this is : I had to go get my RENEWED with a NEW pic LAST WEEK ..lol..and I HATE IT … I actually do look like HER in the DL pic…its pissin me off….lol….Im losin my license just to get a re take…lmao…..I want to be JACYLYN … no Sabrina…. :(((((
Irish
oh ps im seeing a bit of Garfunkel from Sinon & Garfunkel in your original pic …... soooooo not our Rocker BB :)))))))
billyboy replied
GARFUNKEL?? OK, I guess we’re even Steven now…
I tried SO often to leave that old DL in my pocket when my mom did the weekly wash… she always found it and pulled it out just in the nick of time. Always pissed me the fark off!!
So who does YOUR wash? But I guess your DL’s are in laminated plastic so it wouldn’t work…? ours were paper so it would have been a piece of cake. Know anyone with a really powerful document shredder?
Good luck!!
Irish
Oh I have the BESt shredder Babe…. your welcome to it anytime …. have to rid of all the evidence dont cha know? ;)
funkymom
Funkymom Oh Billy, I loved you then and I love you now. You should give your friends a thrill and show them how cute you were as a baby!
billyboy replied
OK… so not actually a baby… but this is about as close as it’s gonna get!
Hope this gives somebody a thrill…
And Funkymom, I so love it when you comment and get me to show cute pics…
xo♥
clarkey
Oh my, this so reminds me of a certain cute but not so nice character from a movie!