Yesterday, I tracked down a number at the State Department and reached a pleasant and sympathetic young man who not only assured me that my passport application had not been lost but also explained that this is such a busy travel season (as evidenced by the fact that if I have to rebook, I'll have a hard time finding a reasonable flight next week) that the passport agencies have essentially stopped answering inquires and are rushing full steam ahead on getting documents out in order of travel date.

This explanation was given further support when an aide to my Congressman phoned this afternoon and said that he hadn't received replies to any of his inquiries in the past few days.

What gives me hope is that when I went to the airport to talk to a ticket agent for UA and find out what my options are in case the passport doesn't arrive, the ticket agent told me that this was the first time that anyone had asked her that question. She actually had to phone UA to find out if there was a specific policy in place, and the answer was that there isn't. Normal "missed flight" rules apply.