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Chasing Rabbits

I was reminded today that US Customs officials are humans too. From the lakefront bike trails of Toronto, to the absurdly unpredictable Calgary climate, to the endless walkways of Chicago O’Hare airport, to the deer littered shoulders of the Wisconsin highways, I have been traveling a lot the last few weeks (mostly for work). It is the observations in travel that I’m sharing with you today.

After hearing about the horror stories of passing through US Customs, I was pleasantly surprised by the element of humanity in the customs officer whom I encountered yesterday. He told me he has never been to Wisconsin and I responded that he’s not missing much, but then he pointed out that there’s beer, cheese and good looking women in Wisconsin. “What more can you ask for?”, he mused. There was then a moment of silence while the man’s mind was occupied by the thought of beer, cheese and women, and you could see his bliss in his reminiscing. He then snapped out of his thoughts to let me continue through customs.

The other day George and I were in a variety store at a gas station and the clerk (an older, probably post retirement aged man) had called a lady “sir”, not once but twice. She looked confused but didn’t call him on it. He must have been intoxicated because when George handed him a $20 bill to pay for the items he bought, the man gave George the $20 bill back and then gave him his change too. George was kind enough to give him the $20 bill back and the man didn’t seem at all surprised at his oversight.

Walking back to our hotel in Calgary the other night, George and I encountered a spectacle of around a dozen wild hares. To make the most of this rare opportunity to see wild rabbits in the city, we chased them around a small field, one of the few remaining patches of nature in this rapidly growing oil booming city.

… From the archives of “The Adventures of Jimmy”

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