A Good Reason To Wine

I am an Italian tourist in New York. Although I am twenty-five, I look younger than that, and I do know about the strict liquor laws in the US, so I make sure I carry my passport around everywhere I go.

One evening, my friends and I decide to go to a restaurant. As we order some wine, we are asked for our IDs. My friends are from the US, so they show their driver’s licenses, while I show my passport.

Waiter: “Could I see your driver’s license, too?”

Me: *Confused* “All right.”

I pull out my Italian driver’s license and show it to him.

Waiter: “No, your American driver’s license.”

Me: “I don’t have one; I don’t live here. I’m just a tourist. But this is my passport…”

Waiter: “We only accept state-issued driver’s licenses, sorry.”

Me: “Okay, but I don’t live here?”

We didn’t know what else to say, and I didn’t want to cause any drama, so I just ordered a soft drink and left it at that. But seriously, not everyone is American!