My passport expires this year, so I've begun the process of renewing it. Today's step in the renewal process was passport photos, so I headed to a nearby Kinkos to have my picture taken... in duplicate.As the guy behind the counter motioned me toward the stool positioned in front of a white screen, I quickly and obediently took my place. He adjusted the camera, and I adjusted my smile. Realizing that duly appointed agents of various and far-flung nations would be comparing this picture to my actual face in the flesh, I decided on a faint, but still recognizable, smile. Hey... I have no desire to perpetuate the "ugly American" stereotype that I understand causes many of our international neighbors to grimace when they see us coming.
So... I'm looking into the camera with my slightly upturned lips, when the Kinkos' guy looks up and says to me, "The preferred pose is non-smiling. Think mug shot." Apparently, the keepers of the gateways into other lands want to be taken very seriously--even your passport picture must be solemnly respectful.
Well, I've never had a mug shot taken, but I have seen my share of television and movie bad guys having their mugs shot, so I hastily lost the smile. I even pondered an unhappy thought or two in order to make certain no hint of a smile crossed my mug--uhh, face.
The finished product, all two of them, looked pretty scary. (Today's Abilene-land wind had also given me a hairdo that looked like it had been pulled from a dumpster.) All I needed was a little board under my chin with the appropriate numbers and my picture would be suitable for framing at any Post Office.
Do me a favor, the next time you see me... say, "Smile!"
