The Lady and The Passport

Who has not had an unprecedented incident in their life?

Let me tell you about one that has marked my life the most. My passport renewal.

After I turned 18, I went to renew my passport, since I did not need my parents for it, and my biological dad and I were not on speaking terms. I lived in the Dominican Republic at the time, so I went to the United States Embassy to renew.

If you have ever been to the DR, you would know that in the streets there are a number of hustlers that are trying to make a living. So, obviously, outside the embassy, we have them as well. If you have a passport, you know you need to take a 2x2 picture with a white background so they can issue your passport. I went to one of the trucks and tried to get my picture. I paid whatever they asked for and received my pictures. When I went inside and took my number turn, did all the paperwork and handed it in, they did not accept my picture.

They said it was not the correct size and format. I had spent most of my money on these pictures, to come and find out they take the picture for you inside the embassy, for a price, of course.

I did not have enough money to pay for the service inside. So, I had spent all my money, my whole day, all the paperwork and questioning, and had nothing at all. I was irate to know I had wasted a whole day for nothing.

So what did I do? I started crying. No, not crying, sobbing. I was so mad, and there was literally nothing else I could do. I was going to have to leave and come back another day. Which meant, another day out of work, another however much I had to pay to submit paperwork, plus whatever they charged me for the picture inside.

At this point, I was just standing in a corner, fuming and crying, when a lady approached me and asked what was wrong. I proceeded to say "nothing". I was not about to tell a stranger I got scammed outside and wasted my time and money, as I did not want to waste her time, since there was nothing she could possibly do for me.

She insisted, because I was crying so hard, to ask what was wrong. So I told her. And she said "oh honey, is that your problem? That's great!" I'm standing here, looking at her like 'excuse me? did you just say what I think you said? How is getting scammed and not being able to renew my passport great?'

She looked in her purse, pulled out her wallet and said "here, I need change. Go pay for your picture and I will wait right here for the change." She did not know me, I had never seen her before, and she just gave me DOP$1,000 because she needed change. I did not accept it at first. But she insisted, because I guess she saw how desperate I was. So I took the money, took my picture, and right away went to find her to give her her change. I asked for her phone number, so I can call her and pay her back when I got out of there, but she refused to give it to me. I insisted that I wanted to pay her back, and she insisted that I don't.

I wish you guys could see my picture. My eyes are red and swollen, and my face is so puffy from all the crying that I had done. But I got my issue resolved by a stranger. Not a stranger, an angel.

I wanted to share this story with you, because it is an incident I will never forget. This complete stranger helped me, out of the goodness of her heart, and I had no way to repay her. So, from that day on, I have paid it forward. I have helped out as many people as I can, because I know how good it felt when someone helped me in my time of need.

Please be kind and conscious when you are around people. You never know when you can save someone from any kind of situation.