Photo ID

I realize things are getting a little stale around here. I've been working on a really interesting project and I promise to get some fresh content up soon. While I am organizing my field notes into blog material, I thought I would share a fun anecdote from a few months back.

 I was traveling to Washington D.C. from the west coast and I managed to lose my driver's license along the way. I didn't have enough time to replace it before my return flight so I decided to try an unconventional form of photo ID - a copy of the October 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine. In 2010, I received a Young Explorer Grant from a branch of the National Geographic called the Expeditions Council. My project was to document wetland diversity in northern Patagonia. The magazine ran a picture of me on their explorer page so I showed up to the airport security checkpoint with a copy of National Geographic and a handful of assorted cards from my wallet.

 The TSA agent laughed and had a hard time recognizing me from the photo, but eventually waved me through. Apparently, that was the first time anyone had tried to pull that stunt on him.