Like most knitters, I live in constant fear of having my handiwork confiscated by government agents. Some people shudder at the thought of Jack Bauer cutting off that Russian guy's pinky; for me the ultimate horror would be watching my work being ripped from the needles and cast aside.
Well, dear reader, today I came close...too close. A last minute need for a passport for DS (OK, so I've known he was going away for Spring Break for months now--gimme a break) necessitated an emergency trip to the US Passport Agency on Hudson Street here in NYC. I'm not proud to say I've been in this situation before (shut up), so I knew it would take awhile, so naturally I looked forward to some knitting time. First pass-through, no problem...but on the pick-up the security agent dug in my bag, pulled out my 16" Addi circ holding my precious warshrag (probably a good thing it was not the Terror Alert Ballband from last summer pictured above, but it makes my point better than the sweet little colors of Spring-inspired number I'm working on) and insisted on keeping it. I'm not inclined to argue with authority in any case, but the bomb sniffing dog and machine gun toting ninja police standing by were pretty convincing.
Anyway, it all worked out in the end and my knitting was returned intact upon exiting, but if you ever have to do the last minute passport thing, make sure you bring something else to do while you wait...and wait...and...OK, I know I have no one to blame but myself for procrastinating, but oy, the agony--a girl can only do so much Sudoku.
The last minute passport thing is pretty cool, BTW. You call to make an automated appointment (lines are perpetually busy so you need to do this in the middle of the night, seriously), show up with the application you've printed off the internet, requisite proof of identity, and an airline ticket showing you're traveling within the next 14 days, and they do a same day or next day turnaround. Just don't bring any knitting you're afraid of losing. Whew.
3 comments:
That's really interesting that you can get a passport so fast. The last few times I've been waiting in line at the Post Office there has been at least one person giving the Post Office worker a hard time about the new Passport Policy.
I'm glad your knitting was returned unmolested.
hilarious story - you write brilliantly.
Hmm. Karen. How do you KNOW it wasn't molested?! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Imagination goes into overdrive.
(I'll be back - I keep an eye on other knitting Terris!)
tutleymutley...do you really think...could it be...Paging the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit story editors: "in the criminal justice system, sexually based crimes against warshrags are considered especially heinous..." Chung-chung!
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