Passport to Adventure!!

Wasn't that the tag line for some TV show back when I was beaucoup younger?

They're having a passport getting to-do thing at the postal orifice on Saturday. I am seriously thinking about doing this. While I am currently not in any position to do any massive travelling, it might be nice to have the document in case I get some uncontrollable urge to go drive to Canada for a beer or fly to Paris for dinner (yeah, right) or something.

I did notice one thing, however. It said on the little card thingy I got from the postal orifice that minors under the age of 14 (16 after some date...) need the approval of BOTH parents to get a passport.

Now, I can understand this, particularly in cases like where the Saudi guys marry a US woman, have a kid and then spirit the kid off to Saudi and leave Mom here holding nothing but a sole-custody order.

But what about families where mom or dad dies before the kid needs a passport? How do they handle situations where getting Dad's signature would mean exhumation? Or what about in the case of .... oh... for the sake of arguement - Charles Manson's kid. Or a child born because of a rape-concieved pregnancy? Or a kid who is the result of a one-night-stand and the gal doesn't know who he was because it was one hellova party? Or Dad is a convicted pederast? Or parents are divorced and Dad and is being a dickweed to Mom about anything and everything just because he CAN?

I don't mean this to condemn anyone for their actions, or to set up some "well, if she didn't want to get pregnant" bullshit flamefest - but what if for some reason it really is NOT possible to get both parents to sign, and it isn't because it's likely one parent would kidnap the kid? Does Johnny have to miss out on his 8th grade trip to Niagara Falls?

What about kids who's parent is MIA because GWB tried to get him/her killed in Iraq?

Seems there has been inadequate thought put into this, if there is no provision to handle alternative familial situations such as the above.

222 days