One part of being a guide that no one ever thinks about is the administrative side of the business, the time it takes and what it costs. I spent yesterday driving to Boston to renew my Coast Guard Operators license. In the old days I simply filled out all of the paperwork got my physical, a drug test and simply mailed it all in with my $95 fee. Not a small undertaking but nothing compared to the post 9/11 world. Now I am required to take all of that paperwork to the Marine Safety Office in Boston and be fingerprinted in person. The background check that they now do will take another month to complete.
I had a good trip down and back, made good time in both directions with little traffic. Found the office with no trouble and even found a reasonably priced parking lot. Getting everything completed took about an hour and the folks in the office were pleasant. (A big change from the last time I was there, someone has done a little customer service training). So aside from the eight hours of driving and all of the expense it was not a bad day out and I should have my new license in time for duck hunting in December.
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