Tips and Humor From Kaye....
Kaye meets many people and sees many things while she travels. She always comes back with a couple of humorous stories to tell. Here is one of them.
A Quilter Without A Country
One of our quilting cruises left from Aruba for the Southern Caribbean. Bill and I flew to Miami to join Jane and Wayne Hill for a quilting cruise.
The next day we were to fly to Aruba when I realized I had my driver's license, but had forgotten my passport, my birth certificate, etc. So I called and had my office fax me these documents.
We flew from Miami to Aruba on a charter the cruise line had arranged. Upon presenting my faxed documents to immigration in Aruba, the man looked at me and said, "These are not original documents." I said nothing, as I have learned is sometimes the best course of action, because it gives the person an opportunity to solve your problem for you.
He then said, "They seem to be on fax paper." Again I said nothing. "Where are the originals?" he asked.
"At home," I replied.
My husband was sure they would not let me on the cruise ship, but what were their choices? Make me stay in Aruba, which is my favorite island, oh darn; fly me back to Miami; or allow me to board the cruise ship and become someone else's problem.
The Immigration officer said, "You can't enter Aruba, but you can pass through to the ship. You should know that you probably won't be able to get back into the States. Only an American would travel with faxed documents." So they let us on the ship. I decided not to worry about getting back to the States until we returned from the cruise.
Twelve days later, after a great cruise, we flew back to Miami. The U.S. customs agent looked at my faxed documents. He said, "These are not the originals." I said nothing. He then said, "They seem to be on fax paper." Again I said nothing. "Where are the originals?" he asked. "At home, " I replied. (Does this sound familiar?)
He then asked what Immigration had said in Aruba. I told him they said, "Only an American would travel with faxed documents." The U.S. Immigration man said, "He's probably right." And all ended well!