Re: Stuck in customs
To be fair, Customs can be arbitrary. I lived on the border, and was in cars that were searched, probably because they happened to be #25 or some such thing, and I've been in cars that breezed through. Buses crossed between Windsor and Detroit regularly -- every hour or half hour -- and passengers got the same treatment. Even people who crossed the border daily for work were sometimes searched thoroughly so that they wouldn't be tempted to take advantage of their routine for smuggling. This was decades past, and I found it worst coming home to Canada. I'm sure Americans found it the same returning to the US, as countries are more concerned about what comes in than what goes out, a primary concern being the potential smuggling of millions of dollars worth of consumer goods for personal use. Shipping across borders is similar. I've had simple American orders delayed while other orders zipped across four borders from the mideast to Canada in two or three days. Shippers lose control at Customs.
By the way, a great many people on the border were small-time smugglers anyway, not declaring the bargains or banned products (e.g., Cuban cigars from Canada to USA) bought on the other side.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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