A lost souvenir

I returned my passport to the government today and, in doing so, I gave up my best souvenir. I did take photographs, and I also brought home some real souvenirs. But those border-crossing stamps ... I'll only leave Swaziland once (because I'm never going back [and, even if I were forced to return, I'd try to exit as hastily as I did the first time around]) and I'll only land at Schiphol once, to celebrate one 30th birthday in Amsterdam.

I was 20 years old when I got that little book, cl ean-shaven and grinning for the Walgreen's photographer, and I put it into an envelope today, sending it back to the US government so that they can dispose of it. What does the government do with returned passports? Is there a giant incinerator behind the passport processing center? Why couldn't I keep the darn thing as a momento? How could anyone make use of an entry visa into Mozambique, dated three years ago?

So all I'm left with are the refrigerator magnets and a couple hundred photographs, none of which I nervously fingered in my pocket as I approached a weird border outpost. The trips were varied but that little book was always the same.

To compensate for its' loss, I've created a blog, which I plan to update twice daily. Honest, I swear that I'll post twice a day, until I lose interest in whole thing, day after tomorrow ...

My posts will address the following 10 topics...

1. Baseball, generally
2. The Chicago Cubs, specifically
3. Chicago, generally
4. My neighbors, specifically (and, even more specifically, the weird guy that lives in the basement of my building).
5. Dogs, and why certain people choose to care for them (I'm not against dog-ownership, but what kind of jackanape pays $700 for a puggle?)
6. My favorite forgotten figures from the US Civil War, fleshed out with inapposite references to Oliver Cromwell.
7. The Clash, and how they rule your face.
8. A brief history of all my ex-girlfriends. That history will be brief by necessity, rather than choice.
9. A description of how I caught a housefly between my thumb and index finger a few hours ago.
10. More Cubs.

(11) Good night.