I have said it before and I’ll say it again.  I have no problem with my age.  I am 35 and every once and awhile I wonder if I’ll get to an age where I find it difficult to admit to, but I kind of doubt it.  There are far too many age related cliches out there that I don’t think I’m allowed to be hesitant in stating my age.  You’re only as young as you feel;  Age is just a number; The older the grape, the sweeter the juice, etc.

With all that being said, nothing brightens my day more than someone carding me when I buy beer.  I know I look over 21.  Hell, I am pretty sure most people would put me over 31, but it’s still nice to have to pull out my ID.  Before today, the last time I was carded was at a bar in West Hollywood.  That bartender could teach a class on charming thirtysomething women, but he was also working for tips…which I gladly gave.

Today I was carded at my neighborhood market by a kid who was anywhere between 16 and 20.  I seriously have no concept of how old people are anymore, the older I get, the younger they look.  The first thing he rang through was my 6 pack of beer.  I could feel him looking at me, but I was fumbling around in my purse trying to see if I actually had my ID with me should he ask.

Two things could have happened:  he could have ask me for my ID, or after having taking a good hard look at me decided there was absolutely no reason to ask me for my license.  I’m clearly old enough, but I like that there was a little shadow of doubt somewhere in his head and he asked me to prove I was legal.  If I could have given him a tip, I would have.

Here are some additional tips to anyone working in the service industry or where alcohol can be purchased.  I’m not sure if guys like to be carded or not, but I have never heard Ryan say he was excited about it and he used to get carded a lot.  And while some of you aren’t working for tips, think of it as something you should probably be doing anyway so why not make someone happy in the process?

1. Always look at the face of the person you are asking for ID.  If you just ask blindly, the gesture looses about 90% of its effect.
2. If someone asks you if you need to see ID, the correct answer is Yes!;Absolutely!orWithout a doubt!   Unacceptable answers would be:  No.; Nah, you look old enough. or HaHa!
3. Another nice touch when carding someone is checking to make sure that the ID is authentic.  The kid today flipped it over and looked at the back.  Nice.
4. If you are sure that the person you are carding is way over 30, but want to go that extra mile to make them feel good, simply saying “We make it a policy to card anyone under 30.”

For all of you out there that hate getting carded, I apologize.