Dear Editor,

What is it about Tim Tyler's humour that people just don't get?

I rarely attend Remembrance Day services, because as he says, it's something that parents instill in their children [Monday more than just a stat, Nov. 15 Yours Truly, TIMES].

My father was an RAF co-pilot during the Second World War, flying Lancaster bombers over Germany, but neither he nor our family ever attended a Remembrance Day service.

I want to tell Walter Verwoerd [Pessimism perhaps poorly placed, Nov. 27 Letters, TIMES] that he goes to the U.S. far too much, if he is going every two weeks, and that's the secret of why he is never bothered.

Those of us who aren't hopping across the line to help the U.S. with their economy aren't so lucky. I don't have a beard, but consider my experiences to be similar to Tim Tyler's. I rarely go across the border, and if at all possible, pay whatever extra I need to pay to not go through an American airport.

My experience with the U.S. Border services began in 1975. After going through U.S. customs at YVR three times on the way to the boarding lounge, silly me commented, "My goodness, another one," and received a, "Just be glad you don't live in Russia."

On returning by car from San Francisco, we must have been mistaken for hippies (long straight hair), as we were taken aside and the car we were travelling was taken apart, looking for, I guess, drugs.

Another favourite was taking the ferry to Alaska before cruise ships, and the captain announced they were leaving foreign waters and everybody cheered.

On the way to Australia after 9/11, all Canadians were put in a lounge with our bags and searched, and after a five-hour delay, finally got underway.

On the return from Australia a month later, only Canadian passengers were pulled out of the boarding lounge in L.A. and taken to a room where we found all our luggage on the floor. We each got our own officer who rummaged through our bags.

After six hours, we were boarded after the U.S. passengers. We were patted down and wanded while watching Americans getting on the plane before us, including a Greek orthodox priest in a gown - who wasn't even patted down.

Yes, we consider the U.S. neighbours, but it doesn't go both ways.

Annette Code, Pitt Meadows

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