New pages for my wonderful little book

Man, my passport looks a mess.

I picked it up this afternoon from the US Passport Agency here in San Francisco; I needed to get new pages added in order to get a Chinese visa for an upcoming work trip. Crazy fast turnaround: I dropped it off this morning (along with an $60 expedite fee, which I'm *ahem* putting on my expense report).

The passport folks threaded in 24 fancy new pages in the middle of my passport book - which is all well and good - but they totally don't match: these high tech sheets are new and crisp, for one (my passport has taken a lot of abuse over the years and the condition of the old pages tell that story well), and two, they are of a slightly different size than the old passport pages (slightly taller, and narrower), so they peak out the top a little as if to explicitly proclaim their superiority.

And you know what, they actually *are* a bit superior to the old-style pages. Each two-page spread is a little advertisement for classic American iconography, eagles lording over rugged mountains (bison too), cowboys running longhorn cattle ragged, and all. The limited use of color and anti-copy protection patterns put a less-than-subtle haze between the action and the viewer, making these (potentially) syrupy scenes palatable. In other words, I find the American icons' delivery somewhat subversive via the medium, even if that wasn't the intent (of course it *wasn't* the intent!). And so I say: kudos to the passport people! haha.

Beyond the pics, the new pages display some patriotic quotes; luckily, most have meaning beyond a strict patriotic interpretation. And, so, I'm sure I'll find myself meditating on the meaning of lines such of these, next time I'm traveling out of country (and sans other reading materials):

"Democracy is based on the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." -- Harry Emerson Fosdick

And,

"We live in a world that is lit by lightening. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time." -- Ronald Reagan

In any case, yeah, it's nice to look through the ol' passport every once in awhile; each stamp - or even just the feel of the well-worn cover - sparks the memory, trips both (insanely) lovely and (insanely) mundane rotate again to the conscious surface (where else can I remember?). And I smile.

What a wonderful little book (looks aren't everything); I'm glad we'll be together awhile longer..