Uncle Charlie and the Passport

by Thom Bennett

About the Author: A retired producer, director and theatre arts instructor, Thom is now a full-time writer. He has written five published plays, including his most performed work "Dark Rituals", and the thrillers "Club Dead" and "RavensCliffe, Island of Games". He has also penned a number of Christmas stories for the MetroLand North Media group and is currently working on an app of gothic campfire tales. Thom is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Excerpt

PART ONE: LUKE’S PROBLEM

Around my neck of the woods, everybody’s got an Uncle Charlie. The Carollies have an Uncle Charlie; so do the Goldsteins, the Mackenzies and the Papadopoulos gang around the corner from me. It seems that our entire neighborhood in Jersey is made up of the United Nations, and each of them has at least one Uncle Charlie in their family. Me? I got two—they’re both named Cario but insist on being called Charlie. My favorite one lives in Manhattan and the other’s got a good thing going for himself up in Toronto, Canada.

Now to be honest, I don’t want to get too specific about my favorite uncle, because he’s kinda famous in the entertainment business. Suffice it to say, he’s something else—a real sweetheart. When you need a favor, he’s definitely the go-to guy.

So I’m telling you all this because last week, I found myself in a major bind. I’d booked this two-week cruise in the Mediterranean some time ago. My girlfriend and I were going to do it up big and hit all the hot spots in Greece, Turkey and Italy. The boat was even going down the Nile to Luxor, where we’d visit the Valley of the Kings. It was the chance of a lifetime. However, there was a proverbial fly in the ointment. When I went to the travel agent to make my final payment, she asked for my passport, and what do you think? The damned thing was out of date! What was even worse, I didn’t have enough time to get it renewed!

But instead of panicking, I thought of my favorite Uncle Charlie. He has lots of connections.

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