Passport Application

I finally applied for a passport yesterday.

So why did I do it? The simple answer is, there's a first time for everything. The longer explanation is, my mother and I want to go to Italy so she can finally see the Adriatic coastal town where my grandfather was born.

My mother and I have been meaning to do this for years, but something always happens to prevent us from going before we've even begun planning it. Like lack of money or time. We're hoping for better luck this time. But even if we weren't thinking of going to Italy, there are other reasons why I want a passport. One involves the hip-hop star Jay-Z, who boasts have having a passport in a commercial he did for Hewlett-Packard personal computers. ("My passport says Shawn [Carter], but you may know me by another name," he says.) This irked me; if some mean, thuggish rapper from North Brooklyn can have a passport, why can't I?

Then there's my Britgirl pal Therisa. She comes from Britain, and she used to work for a cruise ship. Both her proximity to continental Europe and her job allowed her to visit 35 countries by the time she was in her twenties. Me? I've only set foot in two countries - the U.S. and Canada. So I feel I need to start going for the gusto like Therisa did, and have the means with which to do it.

Alas, I might end up needing a passport like a fish needs a bicycle. The dollar is dropping with no floor in sight, I still have a problem with revolving-door employment, and my mother and I might just as easily decide that we can't afford a trip to the Jersey Shore, let alone Italy. So I'll end up having a cool status symbol that doesn't get used very often, or even not at all.

Wow . . . 35 countries - I haven't even been to 35 states!

Not that I'm in a hurry to go to Oklahoma. :-p