From: stephen@sprunk.org   
      
   On 24-Jun-14 13:04, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
   > On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 1:55:13 PM UTC-4, Adam H. Kerman wrote:   
   >> It's been explained to you that Americans didn't obtain passports   
   >> for international travel until they had a reason to, which is   
   >> undoubtably true of people everywhere. A Detroiter going to the   
   >> nudie bars in Windsor never had a reason to obtain a passport until   
   >> just a few years ago. International travel to experience Canadian   
   >> culture or pharmaceuticals wasn't an obstacle.   
   >   
   > Years ago we went to Windsor, Ont and only had to answer a few   
   > questions by the border guards in each direction.  No ID presentation   
   > of any kind.   
      
   When I was a kid/teen, we went to Canada frequently; if they even   
   stopped us at the border at all, they just asked if we were all US   
   citizens and how long we were staying and then waved us through.   
      
   My parents always made sure to pack our birth certificates just in case,   
   but AFAIK they were only requested once--when we took a short cut while   
   moving (with a U-Haul trailer) from Michigan to New York.  Even that was   
   relatively painless.   
      
   > I understand today it is not so simple.   
      
   Not even close.  It's almost like a real border now, just with a bunch   
   of odd things that can substitute for a passport book at land/sea ports   
   of entry.  Ditto for our "border" with certain Caribbean countries.   
      
   S   
      
   --   
   Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein   
   CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the   
   K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking   
      
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