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Crossing borders with fruits and vegetables
This was at a Washington State border entry, returning from BC in 2018. Let’s call our travelers “Dick” and “Jane.”
They had gorged on BC blueberries they had heard could not be brought into the U.S. Jane had a written list of all their other approved edibles, which Dick handed to the American entry guard triumphantly.
“You have an avocado? You’ll have to pull over.”
“But, it’s stamped from Mexico,” protested Jane. “We can buy the same thing at any Safeway from here to California.”
“What part of pull over did you miss?” said the guard.
As it turned out, a different guard, a petite woman in a dark blue jumpsuit, and with a manner that seemed solicitous compared to her male companion, came over to search their trailer a few minutes later. After looking briefly in the cabinets, refrigerator, etc., the guard said, “You’re free to go.”
“But what about the avocado?” said Jane.
It seemed the guard had overlooked the contraband. An awkward silence ensued. The three of them exchanged rapid looks like a spaghetti western three-way standoff. Dick finally tried to break the ice with a bit of humor.
“Jane, I can’t take you anywhere.”
The guard gave Dick a look that said, “I knew you were a wife beater.”
A few minutes later, Dick and Jane were on their way. Without the avocado.
Oh, and the guard said the blueberries would have been OK to bring in.
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ZCasbah
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