BANANA BRAIN
When PATRICK ERCOLINO’s grandmother passed away, he took his two young sons to a Banana Republic in New Jersey to buy suits for the funeral. To receive 50 percent off, he applied for a store credit card, which required the salesperson to validate Ercolino’s driver’s license. “I’m sorry, but we can’t take an ID from out of the country,” the salesperson said. “New Mexico is part of the U.S.,” he replied. “No, it’s part of Mexico,” they assured. Ercolino politely requested to see a manager, who agreed with the employee. “My wife and I looked at each other in shock and did not know what to say,” Ercolino says. “We bought the suits without arguing because my boys were ready to go.”
G.I. NO
In 1970, Michigander JAMES DOAN received word that his U.S. Army orders had been changed from Vietnam to a special assignment at Sandia Base in Albuquerque. “An NCO told me I would need a passport before reporting,” says Doan. Luckily, the soldier had just graduated college with a social studies degree and knew his 50 states.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Colorado Springs resident ROB WATT found this long-lost Missing moment in the September 1961 issue of the New Yorker: “Dear Sirs,” L.C. Moon, of Albuquerque, writes in a letter to the editors: “From her catalogue of superlatives that she hopes will lure foreign travelers to the United States, Susan M. Black has unaccountably omitted the fact that New Mexico receives more requests than any other state for foreign travel information from people who are under the impression that New Mexico is not in the United States.” Some things never change.
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