In preparation for our annual trip to visit my folks' place in Ohio, Fumie realized that Anthony's Japanese passport had expired, so we had to get him a new one. (We renewed his American passport last year, so that was fine.)
While we were at it, we got a passport for Curious George as well. Traditionally, plush toy monkeys have been permitted to cross international boarders without a passport, but post 9/11, one can never be too careful, especially the troubles we've had in the past. So, exercising the oft-cited “abundance of caution”, we went ahead with all the paperwork to set up George with proper documentation.
George couldn't sign his name, so Anthony had to do it. Oddly, the Japanese passport office gave George a 10-year passport, but Anthony only got the expected a five-year child passport. Maybe plush toys age differently.
I also notice that French has been dropped from passports. When I was younger, passports always had French in them. Maybe monkeys don't speak French.
jfriedl wrote:
> I also notice that French has been dropped from passports.
> When I was younger, passports always had French in them.
French used to be the language for diplomacy (the English word “diplomacy” comes from the french word “diplomatie”, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy )
Nice passport, curious george must be very proud of it!
I knew it was…. what I didn’t know was that it had changed. I wonder when that happened. —Jeffrey
Is this for real? I’m sorry but I’ve never heard of plush toys needing passports to travel. Is this only limited for travel to US? Could you please elaborate a little on this matter. Thank you.
Maybe once everyone knew english, there wasn’t a need for the lingua franca?
Did you photoshop this or did the Japanese really grant a passport for a plush monkey?
“bon” passport George! Anthony’s cousin Gracie will love it, particularly because she’s recently discovered all things George. See you guys in a couple of weeks!
This is supercute!
Can’t imagine German officals permitting something like this…