Milan at Midnight

Have you heard about the new passport rules that are taking effect at the end of the year? Gone are the days when you could visit our neighbors with just a driver's license for identification.

By the end of the year, you're going to have a passport to travel by air or sea to and from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In 2008,you've got to have the passport to travel by land, sea, or air.

It ain't gonna be cheap either. If you're 16 or older, the fees for getting a new passport total $97, not including the cost of getting passport photos. For children under 16, the fees total $82. Passport renewals are $67.

Want more info? Check out http://travel.state.gov/ or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778. You'd better do it now. It normally takes at least 6 weeks to get a passport, but the new rules have caused an unprecedented number of applications and your passport could be delayed. It will cost you an extra $60 to get an “expedited” passport and that takes two weeks!

Why am I nagging you about passports? One of the books that I'm writing takes place in London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Milan, Toronto, and islands in the sun which might in be the Caribbean. I think I should visit those places to add authenticity and realism. And ....


I might want to take you with me so you should get ready now.

You wouldn't want to miss Milan at midnight ,would you?