ANSWER: Your Maine State ID is a valid form of identification until 2018. At that time, if Maine is not compliant with the federal law, you will need a passport to board a plane. The reason that this federal law exists is for more security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security requires digital photos that can be used with facial recognition software with personal information maintained by the state and available to federal authorities if needed, among other security measures. Having a passport would be a good backup form of identification.

If this is your first passport or your previous passport is lost or issued more than 15 years ago, you must apply at a local passport agency in person. There are forms to complete, of course, and you must provide evidence of U.S. citizenship like a birth certificate as well as an ID like a driver’s license. They will need to see originals and be provided with photocopies of both. You will need to provide a passport photo that meets certain standards. You can have a passport photo taken at a travel agency or at most store photo counters. The passport application fee is $110.

Passport agencies are often located at your local post office. The Androscoggin County Probate Court, located at 2 Turner St. in Auburn, is also a passport agency.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have some soup recipes, evidently southern, that I would like to try but I can’t find these ingredients: oxtails or meaty shanks and ham hocks. If we don’t have them around here, what could I substitute for them? — Barbara, Minot.

ANSWER: These cuts are not always easy to find at your typical Maine supermarket, but there are meat markets across the state that can help you. For those who are unfamiliar: Oxtails are the tail of cattle, shanks are the portion of meat around the shin bone and ham hocks, or pork knuckles, are the joint above the foot.

Try contacting the following markets to see what they have available:

• Bisson’s Meat Market in Topsham, 207-725-7215;
• Farmers’ Gate Market in Wales, 207-933-3300; or
• Prime Cut Meat Market in Raymond, 207-655-2646.

Local farms may also have these cuts of meat available. If anyone knows where else they can be found, please write in to Sun Spots.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, my friend and I were shopping at Wal-Mart in Oxford. She was in the process of paying for her purchases when the very nice gentleman behind her paid for all of it. We thanked him but were so shocked, we didn’t think to ask his name. God bless him. — Judy and Charlotte, Norway.

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