Sylvia's Journal

Two passports arrived in the mail. Now, together with my two Dutch passports, I am the owner of four passports. No one expected that homeland security would let me have two American passports but it did; all I had to do was ask. My assistant wrote a letter that it was a real hardship to only have one passport and that it had been very stressful for me, a month ago, because of the multiple visas required. With only one passport shipped out to various consulates in DC my family was left in suspense about whether my December trip to Bangladesh was on or not. This was true. It must have convinced some government official that I was a good risk for two passports. I suppose it is also a nice extra income stream since second passports always have a short shelf life and need to be renewed frequently at 50 dollars a pop.

The old passport got its second batch of pages pasted in and can hardly close – it wants to stretch wide open. I wonder if there is a point at which extra pages are no longer added.

Unfortunately the passports were sent to my home address. I had not intended to drive to Cambridge today because the traffic will be at its worst on this day before Christmas (I have to go by at least three shopping malls); but the passports need to make it to Cambridge were a new assistant is poised to obtain three visas for me in the next couple of weeks: India, for transit, Bangladesh and Cambodia for a brief stay. I spent the last hour of my sleep agonizing about whether to get the required visas in one passport or in two, raising all sorts of questions about the purpose and use of the second passport.

Yesterday was a slow workday, as one could expect so close to Christmas. Anyone going someplace else had already gone; meeting rooms were left idle and the energy was rather low, especially mine. At 2 PM I had concluded that there was no point in pretending to be focused on my work and I left hoping to beat the rush hour traffic (I did not) and drop off a few more gifts along the way home.

We ended the day caroling at Diane and Curt’s house with some longtime Manchester residents (this refers to generations of living in this town). A retired judge and senator are still addressed as ‘Judge’ and ‘Senator’ and several have names that are intimately tied up with Massachusetts’ history dating back to the state’s early days.

I have lived in this town now for 15 years which hardly counts. But Axel is at least one and a half generation ahead of me and had parents who lived and worked here (Axel Magnuson Inc. Flowers). All of the old folks knew them. I am slowly getting to know people (or rather they me) because of this annual caroling event that started when several of the grey haired singers were young parents with babes in arms (for us this was only our second year). I also am getting to know people through Axel’s participation in the town’s organizational and political life. I overheard some conversation about town committees and the incompetence of office holders that was draped over an acceptance and understanding of human nature that was both realistic and utterly discouraging.

New Englanders are tenacious and stubborn. I think it comes from having to shovel wet and heavy snow and the long winters that are, invariably, followed by a glorious spring, summer and fall. The message is, if you bite through eventually something better comes along. I am not sure it actually works that way for town politics but, always the optimist, I give Axel my thoughts on leading and following.