Night before last, I decided to take a trip north up the Maine coast to
the Canadian border. I left in time to get there for sunrise, thinking
I'll take pictures along the coast on the way back.
I get to the Canadian border, in the town of Calais, Maine, around 5am.
I didn't realize that entering the town would put me face to face with
the border, but there it was, on a bridge at the edge of town.
There was nobody awake yet, so I drove up to the only person walking
around, a policeman walking in the area of the border. I asked if there
was a place to get a cup of coffee or breakfast, and in the little chat
that ensued, he mentioned it wasn't a big deal to go across the border
and eat in Canada; that there were nice places there.
Okay, I hadn't planned on going across the border, but there it was and
he did make it sound easy. I recalled having crossed the border to visit
Montreal years ago, and it was basically a matter of showing ID and
answering a few questions. So, I figure I'll have breakfast in Canada,
take some pictures and come back across in an hour or so. I head to the
crossing, which looks like a toll booth.
I'm thinking I'll show my ID, answer a few questions, and be eating in
Canada in a few minutes.
The border lady was thinking otherwise, it seems. She had a whole bunch
of questions to ask, such as where I was going, what business I had
crossing into Canada, what was I carrying besides personal clothing (I'm
in an RV, so that's not a simple question). How many cigarettes was I
carrying, how many beers, etc. When I mentioned that I have computer
equipment, she wanted to know what I did with it. Didn't seem accepting
that I use it for my work. After this bunch of questions, she hands me a
paper and tells me to pull over to the building near the booth and see
the guy inside. I had a good attitude, and I'm taking this all in a
friendly sort of way, having recently been favorably impressed with
Canada's ways as described in the "Bowling for Columbine" movie.
I show the guy inside the door of the building the paper the toll booth
lady gave me. He tells me I have go to inside and see another lady. I
walk to the back room, where the lady is waiting (there's no traffic
going on outside at all). She starts with the questions, concentrating
on "exactly what I'm going to take pictures of". I wasn't prepared for
this, so I just shrugged my shoulders and said "nature, whatever". She
stared at me, disbelieving. She wants to know about the computer
equipment. Then she asks if I've ever been arrested. I say "no". She
goes inside somewhere and I hear a fluffy of typing and printers
rattling. After a long few minutes, she comes back, hands me a paper and
tells me to return across the US side of the border. I ask what she
means by that. She says that I'm being denied entrance. I ask why. She
says "in 1970 you had a misdemeanor that you didn't tell me about". I
said "that was 33 years ago, and that was supposed to have been expunged
from the record". I had paid a lawyer $3k at the time for exactly that
reason, and was told that it was. And it never came up again, so I
really had forgotten about it. That didn't phase her, and she just
coldly stared at me as I was escorted out.
Since I never entered Canada, the American side just waved me through. I
learned later that had I actually gone into Canada they would not have
been anywhere near as gracious: they would have searched the entire
vehicle.
So what did I learn?
- the extent of information available about me to any 'authorized'
person with a few mouse clicks (all she had was my driver's license).
Gone are the days when people get a fresh start, I'll tell ya that!
Everything you ever did is in that machine.
- there is animosity going on at that border crossing. When I returned
to the American side and the town of Calais, I stopped and asked a few
people what was going on. One person told me that there is a lot of
hostility going on over the border. One local gas station worker told me
that the Canadian refusal to help with Iraq has sparked a feud that has
generated "a lot" of ill will (she really emphasized the "a lot" part).
I think this is terrible, and I can't escape the sinking feeling that
the Canadians have it right and I somehow deserved the cold stares.
The information in that machine is another story.
Bill
©2003 Bill Arnold |
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