U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of
travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have
travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and
South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted
signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and
now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to
share some of my anecdotes.

The Brazilian experience: Be sure to get an immigration
entry stamp in your passport before you leave. A tourist
behind me interrupted the immigration official with a
question and the immigration official did not give me a
proper stamp in my passport. When I got to hotel I looked
to see what their entry stamp looked like compared to mine.
It didn’t look good. I was not upset but went to
airline office and I thought they could straighten it out:
the airline manifest would show I had arrived. They got
excited. They made me go to Security way across town and
said I had to go to a Notary Republic to get my statement
notarised, etc etc. I wasted one full day trying to get
this straightened out. When I got to security I explained
to a man in the hallway what had happened. I waited awhile
and was called into office. Behind desk was the man in the
hallway I had explained what happened to. He smiled and
entered that I had entered. I was going to go overland to
Manaus in Northern Brazil and only discovered then that I
did not have entry stamp. I suspect I might have been sent
back to Security in Rio. I learn by my mistakes. When I did
get on plane I was given a demi tasse of coffee in a coffee
cup that I thought would be a good souvenir. I asked if I
could keep it. The Stewardess said just a minute and
brought back a cartoon of demi tasse cups. They must have
heard about me! I said, “thanks but one is enough.
Would you refill it?”

I read where some Mexicans tried crossing illegally into
the States across the border from Mexico in a novel way.
Border Patrols saw a truck go by with a portable toilet in
the back. When they opened the door of the toilet there
were seventeen Mexicans. They had paid $500 each to be in
that toilet and there was no toilet paper.

One wag says when US customs ask you if you are carrying
guns, drugs, psychotropic substances or any items harmful
to the National Constitution, he always wonders what kind
of person answers yes to a question like that.

When we got tired of filling our forms to enter
different communist countries and got tired of all the red
tape one wag suggested that on the form where it asked the
reason for our visit that we put “penance”

At one border crossing someone was supposed to meet us
at the border – but no one showed. It was a public holiday.
The toilet on our bus had broken down and the lady in
charge of the toilet at border would not let up in unless
we gave her something like three cents in their money. None
of us had any of their money yet and she would not take any
American money. What do you do? Push her aside? Create an
international incident? Suddenly I remembered that I had
gotten a small amount of their money before coming and I
treated everyone to a “toilet.”

Next month, Mac discusses: Thailand. If you would like
to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com