Canada -- not just America's hat

[bhskittykatt]

SC in this case will stand for "Slow Customer".

Note: We are not at all far from the Canadian border, and several of our guests are going to/coming from Canada.

SC: "Hey, so what do I need to do to get across that border thingy? I need a driver's license or somethin', right?" [Yes, that's verbatim. He called it a "border thingy".]
CW: "Actually, you need to have a passport."
SC: "Pass?"
CW: "Everyone crossing the border must have a passport."
SC: "What's a pass...thingy? Where do I get one of them?"
CW: "You can go to the post office and fill out the paperwork."
SC: "Does it take long?"
CW: "It usually takes a few weeks to process."
SC: "So, if I just wanted to go across, I couldn't?"
CW: "Not without a passport, no."
SC: "What about just going to that arch thingy?" [Everything is a "thingy".]
CW: "No passport, no cross."
SC: "Why do I need a pass-thingy?"
CW: [goes into lengthy explanation of border crossing legislation and requirements, including some restrictions.]
CW: "...and if you have a record, they won't let you across either."
SC: *carefully ponders that remark* "So even if I had a pass-thingy, if I have a record and, like, just wanted to go visit, I couldn't?" [He kept emphasizing wanted.]
CW: "Nope."
SC: "That's stupid." [Methinks someone has a record...]

International border. Foreign country. Customs. Immigration. Not at all like crossing into another state. How is this so difficult to grasp?

[ExRetailDrone]

How the fuck has this person never even heard of a passport? I can kind of understand not realizing that you need one to get into Canada, since that was only changed recently, but... I think my brain just blue-screened.

Also, I would have been tempted to tell him to shove his thingy up his thingy just to see the reaction, since he likes that word so much

[ZedOmega]

(Poster's note: this reply was posted immediately after the poster's monitor was completely cleaned of caffeinated lifeblood)

What... the hell... Seriously, how in the blue sky can someone not know what a passport, which has its function as its goddamn name, is supposed to be for?!

[chainedbarista]

they don't have passports or require them in the underground where he lives; you jes' scoot from tunnel t' tunnel.

wow, someone is still living in the past; i realise it wasn't that long ago that all you needed was some sort of picture id, but that's come and gone; time to get with the future, buddy.

[joe hx]

wasn't it about ten years ago you didn't need a passport to go between Canada and the US? when I went to Vancouver in 2000 I didn't have a passport.

[The Rightful Dead]

i don't know why the idea of a passport is so hard to understand, but im not the best example as ive had a passport for as long as i can remember.

[Jetfire]

To go from the US to Canada, you still don't need a passport or anything other than basic ID's.

To get back to the US from Canada, you will need a passport as of the past year or two. *says no more*

[MoonCat]

There's an enhanced driver ID you can use, I believe. I live very near the border with Canada (an uncle used to have a cottage there. It never seemed like a foreign country to me then). I know you can't just drive over anymore without the right documentation. This guy must have been visiting from outer space!

[BigBird]

As a Canadian, I think it's fair to say that it's fine if this fellow stays on his own side of the border, as we can live without him, thanks.

[tropicsgoddess]

Somebody needs a thingy inserted in their head...I mean really how the hell can that person NOT know what a passport is let alone not grasp the concept of entering another country is different from entering another state in the U.S. The stupid...IT BURNS!!!!

[Sapphire Silk]

they don't have passports or require them in the underground where he lives; you jes' scoot from tunnel t' tunnel.

wow, someone is still living in the past; i realise it wasn't that long ago that all you needed was some sort of picture id, but that's come and gone; time to get with the future, buddy.

The passport thing is fairly recent, as someone else recently pointed out. And just to come into the US. The Canadians are far less paranoid than we are, and don't seem inclined to waste money on the dog and pony show that is the TSA.

When I lived in North Dakota I went to and from Canada fairly frequently, as I had several friends who lived there and we'd go up on weekends and holidays for visits.

We always had to stop at customs, coming and going. It really was not a huge deal unless you have something to declare, and even then you just pay the tax and go on your way (assuming it is not illegal )

One of my friends would always stop at a duty free shop at the customs station to buy whiskey to take home. Don't know if they still have it, but the prices were pretty cheap.

I miss Canada sometimes. Friendly folks there. Nice communities.

[dalesys]

My most famous relative is Canadian. My grandfather's first cousin George "The Iceman" Woolf, jockey, rider of Seabiscuit.

[nuthing12]

To go from the US to Canada, you still don't need a passport or anything other than basic ID's.

To get back to the US from Canada, you will need a passport as of the past year or two. *says no more*

That's not true anymore. When the US started cracking down on flights and border crossing with Homeland Security, although it took many years to implement on the Canadian border, the US finally made it a requirement that Canadians coming into the US would now Require a passport to do so. In accordance, Canada made a similar requirement that any American wanting to come north would be required to carry a passport as well.

There are some exceptions though, where driver's licenses especially tailored to meet certain criteria for cross border travel, will suffice in place of a passport.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

It sounds to me like the SC was looking to partake of more of BC's greatest cash crop (illegal version)...

It also sounds like he's already had a little too much.

[XCashier]

There's an enhanced driver ID you can use, I believe. I live very near the border with Canada (an uncle used to have a cottage there. It never seemed like a foreign country to me then)

Did he have a red Barchetta in the garage?

What gets me is the "pass-thingy". How damned difficult is it to say "passport"?! It's a combination of two short words. Pass. Port. Both incredibly easy to pronounce. Even if you are so concrete-skulled as to be unable to comprehend what it is for, you should be able to say it.