Date:         Tue, 23 Jul 1996 18:41:04 -0300
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Roy Nicholl <rnicholl@asg.unb.ca>
Subject:      RE: Trip Report: Border partings :-(

In article <ECS9607230958A@utoronto.ca> UTORInfoCommons <michael.heron@UTORONTO.CA> writes:

> From: UTORInfoCommons <michael.heron@UTORONTO.CA>
> 
> the point being that my sole crime I seem to be 
> guilty of is happening to enjoy split window busses (with nary a
> peace sign, dove or rainbow coloured paint job to be seen). It seems
> that US border patrol cannot differentiate between this important
> nuance and consider me to be a relic of the 60's intent on shipping
> copious amount of mind altering substances into the USA. I mean come
> on if I was intent on doing that don't they think I would be at
> least chooising a less conspicuous (and faster!) mode of transport??
> For referenece  whenever I drive my rusty Japanese car across the
> border, no problema!  

Mike, I do concur with your sentiment here.  I am forever getting
hassled by US customs...I s'pose the dreadlocks don't help ;).  It
has gotten to the point that when I travel for business that I will
take direct flights from Canada, even if it costs a few bucks
[sometimes quite a few] more, just to avoid the abuse.

And you want to talk about no sense of "Ha Ha"!  I think when they
recruit these guys and gals that the form reads "those with a sense of
humour need not apply".  I was passing across once [crossing at Sault
Ste-Marie] and their eyes light up as I approached [look a 'long hair'
in a VW Microbus...we gonna have a partie with this one].  In the
middle of disassembling everything, I asked if they would change the
oil and gap the valves [I was getting very bored and thought that I
would lighten things up a little]. This got them going and I had to
play the "drug quiz" game [Hey...at least it's not a cavity search I
thought...having enough sense not to say that one out loud].  Finally,
with both my patience and the border guards wearing thin, I pointed
across the parking lot at some yuppies in their bimmer and said "Do
you really think that IF I were smuggling drugs that I would be stupid
enough to cross the border wearing dreads and driving an old VW Bus?
Hell, I would be a clean shaven, short hair yuppie in a power-suite
driving a bimmer or Volvo!"  This seemed to do the trick as they let I
go...after warning I that my "sense of humour" could land I in jail if
I got the "wrong" border guard.

Bugs & Things & Bricks [Full of bricks...of course]...Oh, my!

Roy

-- 
Roy Nicholl
Atlantic Systems Group		Phone:	(506) 453-3505
Incutech Centre			Fax:	(506) 453-5004
B/S 69000			E-Mail:	Roy.Nicholl@ASG.unb.ca
Fredericton, NB			Canada	E3B 6C2