Man at Work

The County Seat's post office held a 'passport fair' this morning.   Usually to get a passport, you need to make a reservation w/ them (so they have someone on hand that knows the procedure) and they don't take photos.  The fair meant no reservation and they would take photos.  I had a feeling there would be a goodly number of people in the area looking to get their first passport or get a renewal however I still went to the post office early.  Yes - there was already a line of applicants.  Fortunately for me I was behind a man in an orange shirt.  Easy to pull my phone out and play some games as long as I kept sight of that orange shirt out of the corner of my eye.  Listened to the good natured banter going on.  A couple was attending a wedding in the Dominican Republic next year.  Then the couple that would be getting married got in line so more questions about the destination site.  Some people going across the border into Canada or Mexico.  Three women planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland.  Finally the line began to move.  First was a station checking that your DS-11 was filled out to their satisfaction.  Most people obviously had been on-line, downloaded the form, and filled it out already as I had.  Unfortunately many people hadn't read the instructions where it said absolutely no crossouts or revisions.  So the line moved fast as people w/ rejected forms got new ones and went to fill them out again.  My turn.  I passed over my form, a copy of my birth certificate, and driver's license.  I said I hadn't filled in the spot for my old passport number because "the dog ate my passport" and held up the chewed remains as proof.  She wrote a note, attached it to my paperwork,  and told me I was ready for a photo.  That meant standing in line at station #2.   My official pic was taken.  I was shocked to realize that (a) I look a lot like my sister, (b) friend Kathy was right that my hair does have a strawberry blonde vibe, and (c) it was a good pic of me and if I'd been allowed to smile I would have put it on my banner for WWFriends.   I was given additional paperwork and told I could now go to station #3 for payment.  Another line. It was getting crowded in the small lobby of the post office by now but all I had to do was find my guy w/ the orange shirt and stand behind him.  The post mistress looked at the note attached to my paperwork at station #1 and asked for my dog-chewed passport.  She attached that w/ the certified copy of my birth certificate to the paperwork and I made out a check for $130 for passport processing and another $50 to the post office for their resources.  Will be interested to see how long it takes for a new passport to arrive.  (I know what you are thinking.  Yes, I will keep the new passport out of the dog's reach.)