Passport Application - check!

Flyboy had small group training this morning, which gave us a rather late start to the whole passport thing.  It was about 10:45 when we got to Walgreens, where the nice young clerk told us it would be an hour before he could print our photos.  So, we jumped into the car and headed to beautiful downtown Greendale, the closest post office with photo-taking capabilities.

The sign said, "Passport hours: M-F 9-3, Sat 9-11 - appointment recommended".  It was 10:58 when we got to the counter.

Me:   "We didn't know there were passport hours until we saw the sign on the door.  Are you able to help us?
Him:  "Yes, I think we can help you."
Me:   "Is it possible to get photos?"
Him:  "We can do that."
Me:   "Thank you so very much."

"Him" made our day.  In retrospect, Flyboy mentioned I could have gone earlier, while he was at church, in which case, he would have waited until Monday.  Unfortunately, I had not thought of that, and standing there waiting for the pictures to print, we were feeling quite fortunate to be able to get in under the wire.

"Him" made getting a passport fun, even.  He had long dark hair, some facial hair, and dangly earrings that looked rather, well, feminine.  Until we got up to the counter and had a closer look.  They were in the shape of little handcuffs.

Him:   "If you have any questions through the process, please feel free to ask, and by the time we get to the end, you'll probably have your answers anyway."
Me;   "I can't think of any questions at this point."
Him:  "Sign here - it says you swear to not being a terrorist...or something like that."
Flyboy:   "I dunno - she scares me sometimes."
Him:   "Well that's between you.  There is no form for that."
Me:  (as I watch him stapling my birth certificate to the paperwork) "You're keeping my birth certificate?"
Him:   "I thought you didn't have any questions."
Me:   "That was before I saw you stapling my birth certificate to that stack of papers."
Him:   "That will get answered at the end.  You are my first passport applicants.  Does that make you feel any better?"
Me:    "At least the training should be fresh in your mind."
Him:  "I did just have a refresher course.  Took two hours to learn what order to staple the papers in.  I passed, by the way."
Me:   "I DO feel better now."

So, thanks to the very nice (albeit a little quirky) gentleman at the post office, we are one step closer to being in the system.

PS - Should you be in the market for a passport, the photos are cheaper at Walgreens.  But, the ability to get it all done at once made us glad we had them taken at the post office.