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Richard Jernigan -> RE: Advice about travelling to Spain with a Brazilian Rosewood Guitar (Dec. 12 2014 17:19:56)
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In the 1970s I used to return from Europe via JFK Airport in New York.
On one trip I had with me two new Jose Ramirez 1a classicals I had bought for friends. i declared them, and said I would pay the customs duty. At the cashier's window, he moistened the back of a a $100 American Express Traveler's Cheque, causing the ink to smear.
"Why did you do that?" I asked.
"To tell whether it's counterfeit."
"I know, but why would I declare the guitars at full value, then pay with a counterfeit check. I could have just lied about the price and showed you a fake receipt."
"You never know what people will get up to."
The Customs inspectors at JFK generally ranged from gruff to rude. I usually bought a handful of Cuban cigars in Europe, and put them in my coat pockets to pass through Customs. Cuban cigars have been embargoed in the USA for decades. Opening my suitcase for the inspector, I was disappointed to see that I had absent-mindedly left the cigars in it.
The agent pounced on them. He held them up and asked, "What are these?"
"Cuban cigars," I replied.
He handed them to me and said, "Put 'em in your pocket, stupid."
RNJ
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