In this case the city in question is San Francisco and the object of my trip was on Golden Gate Ave. Rather than be insane enough to drive, I had George drop me off at North Berkeley BART just before 0630. My timing was perfect; I barely made it down the escalator when the train pulled in. At this time in the morning, there were more than 20% (including me) of the passengers wearing masks.
I disembarked at Civic Center with what I thought was plenty of time on my hands and headed to the nearest Starbucks for much needed caffeine. Latte in hand, I sat down to read, then looked at my phone. 0724. Huh? Oops. Out the door, up the hill three block and then two blocks over to the right. A line at the door. Why was I not surprised? Security at government buildings has obviously increased over the years.
Present a picture ID, drop all electronics in one bin, everything else in the second, walk through the scanner, reclaim possessions and head to the third floor. It was now just five minutes prior to my 0800 appointment time. Check-in, join another line.
What was I doing? Replacing a passport. I had it when we left Southampton. I don’t remember taking it with me off ship on the two (maybe three?) ports that I actually visited. But in any case, I couldn’t find it when we arrived in Miami. Both Miriam and I searched my things and the cabin, so I don’t think we missed it. I didn’t check with the front desk on ship assuming that they wouldn’t be so stupid as to have my passport and not inform me. Since they hadn’t had either a small pair of scissors or a pair of readers than went walk-about from the Observation Lounge,.
Anyway – more lines. I get to the window and hand over all the papers. Yes, I had finished out the “lost” form on line. No, I hadn’t printed it. Instructions didn’t say to do so. Step out of line, fill in form by hand, get back in line. Do I have a copy of my birth certificate? I just stared at her. Holding up four old passports – I have had a passport for 55 years, here are four of my previous ones – why would I bring a birth certificate when theses prove I have been vetted multiple times. She just takes the most recent of them, attaches it to the forms, prints a numbered form and directs me to the next set of lines. I wait, then get called. The clerk checks over everything, collects money, and gives me a receipt saying 2 January after 1400.
Amazingly, it is not even 0845. I have not lost my whole life at the office. Back to BART and George picks me up at 0920. Glad to be back home, I am NOT going anywhere else today.
Oh, why did I not deal with this whole mess by mail? No clue how long it would take, there is a local office in SF, we are leaving for Morocco 15 Jan 2025.
