I am undocumented. My purse was stolen Saturday night, but I feel I’ve been robbed twice, or had insult added to injury.

I know, I know. It’s my fault, but the same kind of things happen to others when it isn’t their fault. What does government, that great protector of liberties, do to help? Well, it took the police 3-1/2 hours to take a report. It might not have been so long if I hadn’t given up waiting at the police station after what seemed like 40 minutes, so I could go home and start canceling credit cards. Thanks to some nice people, I was able to borrow some money.

Like a dufus, I had left my passport in my purse for no good reason. So, my passport and driver’s license were stolen. I almost didn’t have enough documentation to apply for a new driver’s license. The DMV gatekeeper almost rejected me because I didn’t have a spare, unexpired driver’s license. Now, I have to wait 8-10 business days before I get a new license. I do, however, have a piece of paper that says right on it it is not a form of ID.

So, what about cashing checks? Fortunately, I know a couple people who said they would talk to the bankers to help me cash them. However, it will be a couple weeks before I know any account numbers for making deposits. What if I had obeyed the push for everybody to switch to direct-deposit? I suppose the funds would go to a wrong account and take another few weeks to be processed. What if I had a life and had had plans to rent a car, take a plane trip, or do any of a multitude of things that require free citizens to carry documentation these days?

I really can’t hold a grudge against the dude who stole the purse. I am supposing he got tired of waiting for his valid ID’s to be processed.

One thing’s for shoawer. I feel secuoawer.

I am undocumented. Somebody stole my purse Saturday night. When I discovered it was missing, it took 3.5 hours to get a police report. Since it was the weekend, I could only talk to answering machines at the banks. They strongly advised me to get a police report. The police said I didn’t need the report.

So far, the banks have been really cooperative. I went to get a new driver’s license, but they cana’t mail me a new one for 8 to 10 days. They instead gave me a piece of paper that says I applied for a license, but I can’t use the paper for ID. Expired ID’s don’t work these days.

So, for the next couple weeks, I’m in the fine position of having to rely on friends to cash my checks for me, and not being able to put the money anywhere for another seven to fourteen days when I know my new account numbers.

I can’t get mad, though. The guy who stole my purse probably just got tired of waiting to get his official ID’s.