i dont know how i forgot to write about this when i was in new mexico last month, but i did.

we were in taos, which is a small town with ski resort and one of the oldest still occupied dwellings in the usa (the taos people have lived there for about a 1000 years i believe). cool place to visit if you find yourself in new mexico and want to see indigenous housing that is still in use and well preserved.

anyway, we were in taos for the afternoon because we got out of class early and there was a bus going that way from the campus (and as the campus was 5 miles from the nearest town, there was that desire to escape). after a thoroughly obnoxious 2 hour bus ride in a high school type bus (uncomfortable), we spent about 2 hours at the small reservation. then, with about 2 hrs more to kill before returning to summer camp (pretty much it was summer camp in that everyone ate at the cafeteria, and you had to get there with your friends or you would be sitting with the losers-arguably as we were all teachers we were all losers, but i digress.) i was with a texan, a canadian (we teach in mexico) and a guy from mexico (he teaches in houston). we walked around for a while looking at the cheap crap on sale at every little store (who doesn´t want their name engraved on a cheap key ring!) and then we decided to eat.

there was a little restaurant close by, and as i had pretty much determined to eat appetisers everywhere i went in the usa because my favorite food from the usa is still bar food, i flipped through the menu looking for some sampler platter. to my surprise they had fat tire (new belgium brewery out of northern colorado) beer and i was stoked. this was once my favorite beer, at the very least favorite beer company, in the usa and it was happy hour so it was cheap. i made some stupid comment about how much i loved the beer and my friends decided to get it as well because i recommended it so highly.

the waitress arrives and i was so excited i jumped at the hesitation by the others to order first.
¨fat tire, please.¨ ¨sure, can i see your id first?¨

what? id. i am 28 years old.

¨sorry, new mexico state law requires me to see everyone´s id¨
no shit. i worked at a bar for years in college, i know the law. but damn, no one actually follows that law. if they did, where would tips come from? how would 19 yr olds go out and have fun with their older friends?

my friends produced their passports and i sat there looking stupid.

about a year ago i decided to stop carrying a wallet as a precaution against theivery and general imbecility (loss). since then, i dont use any identification when i go anywhere. i carry cash and sometimes a bank card. i went to buy some clothes with my friends a few weeks ago and was confronted for the first time in mexico by someone asking me for an id to accompany my card. i was more shocked that they would not sell me the clothes without the id and i cursed them as i left the store, swearing never to return. and i shant.

thus, carrying a passport outside of the airport was not even a consideration. wtf? i am, dammit, 28 years old.

immediately i thought back to the beard days and wished i still had it.

the waitress got back around to me and asked for my id again.

my first question was if they had sweet tea. no.
i ordered water.

then i remembered how kids under 21 drink with their friends who are older. my friend from texas arranged all the drinks in the center of the round table, then, she quietly passed me her beer.