Wednesday, November 28, 2018

renewal

I felt sad when my passport expired.

The expense of renewing it seemed unjustified, considering how unlikely it is that I will be physically able to travel. But letting my passport expire felt like a surrender.

Every now and then in the past 3 years - my passport expired on 8 November 2015 - I've mentally debated the decision. It came down to one question.

Not: "How likely is it that I will use a passport?"

But: "How much value does the option of getting on a plane carry?"

Once when I had a medical appointment in a city I rarely visit these days, an hour away, I stopped at the AAA office and had pictures taken. Just in case.

And one day when I came across my old passport while looking for something else, I put it in a place where I could find it when wanted. If wanted.

Well, on the subject of renewal:

My Massachusetts driver's license is going to expire in December. Hoping to avoid a trip to the Registry, I went online to renew it. It quickly became apparent that the licensing system in MA has changed, and is in the middle of a transition related to federal ID requirements. I read all the instructions two or three times, and after spending an hour on the website, I came to a startling conclusion:

The simplest way for me to renew my MA driver's license
would be to first renew my passport.

Crazy but true.

This morning, I renewed my driver's license online.

Because a few days ago, this came in the mail:




And I feel very good about it.
~~~~~

12 comments:

  1. I think your determining question was a good one. Value is very subjective but I think it's important to make this decision rationally rather than emotionally.

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    1. When expenditure is involved, I generally "rational" decisions right into the ground, as I think you and Dan are also likely to do ;)

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  2. Yay for having it done. I need to dig mine out and see when it expires!

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    1. Did you know about the changes, Sally? I should perhaps follow MA news a bit more closely!

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  3. Happy Updated Passport!
    Massachusetts, weirdness never ceases to amuse.

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    1. This has more to do with Federal law than Massachusetts, but it was an unexpected complication, either way. I'm SO glad I didn't wait til the last minute to renew my license, thinking it would be a typical "snap" to do it again!

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  4. Yes! Because you never know when an opportunity might present itself. And these days you have to have one to even go to Canada.

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    1. Yep! I *still* didn't get the form of license that will serve as a federal ID, but I saved a trip to the Registry, and with a passport, I also have a federal ID. I don't mind carrying a passport if I expect to be in an airport or federal building. Heck, I'd probably carry it in those circumstances anyway!

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  5. We've let our passports lapse too mainly because we have no intention of ever leaving the country. For most of our lives we didn't have a passport and so it's not a wrench not to have one now. Interesting that it's necessary to renew a drivers license though - wonder how long it will be before that's the expectation here as well.

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    1. Just to attempt to clarify: a passport isn't necessary to renew a driver's license, but there are at the moment two types of ordinary license and there is a "proof of ID" and "proof of legal residency" requirement to make a MA license function as a federal ID. A federally accepted ID will very soon (I think March 2020) be necessary here to enter a federal building or get on a plane, even for a domestic flight. There was a two-page list of info about what documents are acceptable as this proof, and for me, the simplest to put my hands on was a passport. All this faff, even though I was renewing a license I've held (and renewed) for over 30 years - at the same address!

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  6. Life just seems to get more complicated every, I was going to say year, but I think week might be more accurate! Decisions, decisions.

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  7. I've been in the same situation. My spine makes plane rides intolerable... so I let my passport expire. But now we're talking about a long slow drive to Alaska at some point... for which I'd need a passport. I think that I'll follow your lead! Thanks!

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