In October 1974, my then-wife and I were on a vacation trip (Vermont, Rural Québec, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) in our crappy Chevy pickup. We were visiting people we already knew or had corresponded with about hippy farming communities. When we got to Calais, the truck had a carburetor issue, and the dealer there couldn’t look at it until the afternoon…so on a beautiful day we decided to cross into Canada at St Stephen, which we did on the way there.
Coming back across to Calais for the car repair was another story altogether: as hippies, we were detained for 3+ hours, told that my wife was wanted for murder in Texas (same SS #? Nope) and that we might as well tell them where we hid the drugs, because the were bringing out the dog. Every half hour, it was “you might as well tell us because here comes the dog,” but we were clean, not STUPID, and we waited. Finally, they found a dog (at the pound?), paraded us all out to the truck…where the dog lifted his rear leg on a tire, and then, when told to sniff the cab, he went right to our food and started eating it. Clearly humiliated, they allowed us to return to Calais.
On the return TRIP from Yarmouth, NS, we drove our car off the ferry into a line awaiting assignment to one of at least 8 toll booth-like checkpoints. We were instructed to go to one line that was much longer than the rest…you guessed it: the hippy line, where we waited outside our vehicles with all the other long-haired drug smugglers
Sigh. I have been crossing the US/Canada border for the past 50 years, and almost every time, the Canadians have been great and the Americans have been assholes.
Huh. I love my Canadian citizenship now, more than ever…the US one? Fuck it.
Driving home from Downeast as I type (well... hubs in driving). Every hotel in Bar Harbor had a vacancy. There was NO LINE to get into Acadia. Tickets to go up Cadillac Mountain are there for the asking. Everywhere there are spots for parking and eating.
The stupidity of Washington County doing this... and the rest of the district and country will be felt for years to come.
" Local legend has it that, during the War of 1812, the British military gave the town elders of St. Stephen gun powder for protection and they ended up sharing it with their buddies across the water for Fourth of July fireworks."
You can tell the idiot family members by their inability to count above 7 or 8 on their fingers...
You know, when they split up Germany after WWII, there were a few towns that were literally cut in half. This right here reminds me of that way more than I'm comfortable with.
It would be another VietNam. The American's big mistake in 1812 was assuming we would greet them as heroes. Lot of Canadians have guns buried in their back 40 so it wouldn't be an easy conquest, it would be long and dragged out and Americans would get tired of sending their kids to die.
My Dad was once stopped at a sleepy little crossing and spent 4 hours in detention because he forgot to declare some galoshes he had purchased. This was in the early 1950s. He always crossed in and out of Canada at a city crossing thereafter.
I’m sorry. I’ve never been without at least one pup my whole 68 years, but my last two girls went together during the pandemic. They were 16, & both were very ready, but didn’t seem in pain. I finally had to face reality & a wonderful vet sent them on their way under their favorite tree. I still cry about them, even though I found a wonderful good boy rescue 2 yrs ago. He’s 9 now, & if we outlive him, I’ll adopt another older one, and another, cuz life is too empty without a pup. I don’t think the sadness ever leaves, but loving another one helps. Jack will send you someone when you’re ready.💔
My spouse is still in mourning almost three years after we had to send our little one to the Rainbow Bridge when he was almost 17 (we adopted him when he was just six months old). I've accepted it, but with great sorrow. The sadness never does leave, but there is one way I've found to help alleviate the pain: whenever I get down I remind myself that anyone you love will eventually pass away, and rather than dwell on the pain I remind myself that we had 16 years of unconditional love from him.
And I fully agree that there is definitely an emptiness that needs to be filled in by a four-legged member of the family, and they don't have to be mammalian (nor four-legged for that matter). A good friend tells me about the therapy he experiences when playing with his Iguana. Another friend has told me how calm she becomes when her bird is perched on her shoulder.
There’s no part of this country that’s too remote for Krasnov not to have rubbed his taint on. Everything that made America special and, dare I say it, great, is crumbling before our eyes.
I have often wondered how the European colonization of the Americas would have gone if the indigenous peoples along the East Coast had had firearms and cannons.
I believe it was historian Samuel Eliot Morrison who noted that when Giovanni de Verrazano sailed along the coast of what is now Maine and New Brunswick he saw native peoples standing on the cliffs mooning and pissing in the general direction of his ships. Verrazano named the area "the land of bad people." It seems to me the natives had some honest foresight.
In the end, probably not much differently. European diseases like smallpox, measles and influenza still would have resulted in high mortality rates, the sheer number of Europeans arriving in North America was ultimately as overwhelming as the weaponry they brought with them, and long histories of hostile relations between tribes would still have been exploited.
My deepest condolences Toomush! Sucks. I'll say the usual "Jack is in a better place" but I know it's difficult for those of us carrying on. I'm sure you have some wonderful memories! Cherish them!
Ta, Andrew. This is very disheartening. Decades ago I was part of an Underground Railroad to get Vietnam era draft avoiders out of the US and into Canada. We did so by hiking them through the New England woods to the Canadian woods. Back then the border was very porous, and none ever went through a legal checkpoint. We "conductors" would meet up with each other at predetermined places to hand off our 18-year-old charges (I was younger than they and an experienced hiker and camper; thanks, Girl Scouts!), many of whom had never before spent a night in the woods and were almost as frightened by that as they were of the federales. We all used pseudonyms so in case of a bust no one knew any government names to give, and as far as I know, no one ever got caught. I can say this now because the draft dodgers were granted amnesty, and the statute of limitations ran out on my/our aiding and abetting ages ago. I was and remain proud of that work. I am deeply ashamed of what my government has become, and I love our Canadian brothers and sisters. Let us remain allies and work to restore sanity in every possible way.
I'm aware that many are protesting all over the country, and here's what I want to see going forward. Whether it's 50501, No Kings, May Day, or a different organized or disorganized or spontaneous protest, I want the entire crowd to chant "Epstein! EPstein!! EPSTEIN!!!" just as in 1984's Two Minutes' Hate the crowd shouted "Goldberg! GOLDberg!! GOLDBERG!!!" Whenever you're part of a protest, make it so. We're counting on YOU. Good day, beloved Wonketteers. I love and appreciate you all and I bless us all with love, health, peace, and grace.
Please, please stay safe. Wear a mask or two, wash your hands, sanitize when you cannot wash and let the sanitizer dry completely, stop touching your face, take Vitamin D, get a booster shot six months after your last, and catch up on any other vaccinations you need, avoid indoor and crowded outdoor gatherings and when you must meet, remove masks only to eat, drink, and take quick photos, and stay the fuck away from me and everyone with whom you do not share a roof. Do this because you love yourself, and because I love you, too. Do this in memory of dear departed family and friends like Forever 27 Treg and heroic Tony, Holly's pilot friend, among nearly eight million dead worldwide. Do this to honor the nurses and other frontline medical personnel (we love and appreciate you, Medicos of Wonkette), particularly ICU Hera Mrs Land Shark RN. Be kind, especially to yourself, and please stay safe.
In October 1974, my then-wife and I were on a vacation trip (Vermont, Rural Québec, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) in our crappy Chevy pickup. We were visiting people we already knew or had corresponded with about hippy farming communities. When we got to Calais, the truck had a carburetor issue, and the dealer there couldn’t look at it until the afternoon…so on a beautiful day we decided to cross into Canada at St Stephen, which we did on the way there.
Coming back across to Calais for the car repair was another story altogether: as hippies, we were detained for 3+ hours, told that my wife was wanted for murder in Texas (same SS #? Nope) and that we might as well tell them where we hid the drugs, because the were bringing out the dog. Every half hour, it was “you might as well tell us because here comes the dog,” but we were clean, not STUPID, and we waited. Finally, they found a dog (at the pound?), paraded us all out to the truck…where the dog lifted his rear leg on a tire, and then, when told to sniff the cab, he went right to our food and started eating it. Clearly humiliated, they allowed us to return to Calais.
On the return TRIP from Yarmouth, NS, we drove our car off the ferry into a line awaiting assignment to one of at least 8 toll booth-like checkpoints. We were instructed to go to one line that was much longer than the rest…you guessed it: the hippy line, where we waited outside our vehicles with all the other long-haired drug smugglers
Sigh. I have been crossing the US/Canada border for the past 50 years, and almost every time, the Canadians have been great and the Americans have been assholes.
Huh. I love my Canadian citizenship now, more than ever…the US one? Fuck it.
Driving home from Downeast as I type (well... hubs in driving). Every hotel in Bar Harbor had a vacancy. There was NO LINE to get into Acadia. Tickets to go up Cadillac Mountain are there for the asking. Everywhere there are spots for parking and eating.
The stupidity of Washington County doing this... and the rest of the district and country will be felt for years to come.
" Local legend has it that, during the War of 1812, the British military gave the town elders of St. Stephen gun powder for protection and they ended up sharing it with their buddies across the water for Fourth of July fireworks."
You can tell the idiot family members by their inability to count above 7 or 8 on their fingers...
We are a bunch of wretched fuckers.
You know, when they split up Germany after WWII, there were a few towns that were literally cut in half. This right here reminds me of that way more than I'm comfortable with.
Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora represent...
Of course the border used to be a shack on either side of the road going through downtown, not even a string of barbed wire along the line...
I'm still uncomfortable with the fact that most Canadians live within an easys days march of our longest undefended border.
I look at as a days drive if I have to get the fuck outta Dodge
We are gonna build a Great Wall, and Canada is going to pay for it!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EckAbS0XsAAQglz?format=jpg&name=small
Crocodile motes with laser sharks or GTFO!
It would be another VietNam. The American's big mistake in 1812 was assuming we would greet them as heroes. Lot of Canadians have guns buried in their back 40 so it wouldn't be an easy conquest, it would be long and dragged out and Americans would get tired of sending their kids to die.
Americans had their fill in Iraq and Afghanistan
"Pull up" Pete can run his mouth all he wants, same with the Pedo in Chief, but they're not the ones who'll be backing it up
My Dad was once stopped at a sleepy little crossing and spent 4 hours in detention because he forgot to declare some galoshes he had purchased. This was in the early 1950s. He always crossed in and out of Canada at a city crossing thereafter.
The Boston Globe did a story on this earlier in the week as well, and I was pissed off then and now I'm pissed off again.
ETTD.
I’m sorry. I’ve never been without at least one pup my whole 68 years, but my last two girls went together during the pandemic. They were 16, & both were very ready, but didn’t seem in pain. I finally had to face reality & a wonderful vet sent them on their way under their favorite tree. I still cry about them, even though I found a wonderful good boy rescue 2 yrs ago. He’s 9 now, & if we outlive him, I’ll adopt another older one, and another, cuz life is too empty without a pup. I don’t think the sadness ever leaves, but loving another one helps. Jack will send you someone when you’re ready.💔
My spouse is still in mourning almost three years after we had to send our little one to the Rainbow Bridge when he was almost 17 (we adopted him when he was just six months old). I've accepted it, but with great sorrow. The sadness never does leave, but there is one way I've found to help alleviate the pain: whenever I get down I remind myself that anyone you love will eventually pass away, and rather than dwell on the pain I remind myself that we had 16 years of unconditional love from him.
And I fully agree that there is definitely an emptiness that needs to be filled in by a four-legged member of the family, and they don't have to be mammalian (nor four-legged for that matter). A good friend tells me about the therapy he experiences when playing with his Iguana. Another friend has told me how calm she becomes when her bird is perched on her shoulder.
fnord
They always take a piece of our hearts with them; but they leave your theirs, so in the end we end up with Theseus' Heart...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
(just lost our eldest one in July...)
Sigh.
There’s no part of this country that’s too remote for Krasnov not to have rubbed his taint on. Everything that made America special and, dare I say it, great, is crumbling before our eyes.
I have a friend who grew up in St. Stephen. Her family, who are on the Canadian side, have all gone MAGA. So idiots on both sides unfortunately.
Why why why??
"Tiny Hands Across the Border" brought to you by President Epstein.
I have often wondered how the European colonization of the Americas would have gone if the indigenous peoples along the East Coast had had firearms and cannons.
I believe it was historian Samuel Eliot Morrison who noted that when Giovanni de Verrazano sailed along the coast of what is now Maine and New Brunswick he saw native peoples standing on the cliffs mooning and pissing in the general direction of his ships. Verrazano named the area "the land of bad people." It seems to me the natives had some honest foresight.
In the end, probably not much differently. European diseases like smallpox, measles and influenza still would have resulted in high mortality rates, the sheer number of Europeans arriving in North America was ultimately as overwhelming as the weaponry they brought with them, and long histories of hostile relations between tribes would still have been exploited.
My deepest condolences Toomush! Sucks. I'll say the usual "Jack is in a better place" but I know it's difficult for those of us carrying on. I'm sure you have some wonderful memories! Cherish them!
Ta, Andrew. This is very disheartening. Decades ago I was part of an Underground Railroad to get Vietnam era draft avoiders out of the US and into Canada. We did so by hiking them through the New England woods to the Canadian woods. Back then the border was very porous, and none ever went through a legal checkpoint. We "conductors" would meet up with each other at predetermined places to hand off our 18-year-old charges (I was younger than they and an experienced hiker and camper; thanks, Girl Scouts!), many of whom had never before spent a night in the woods and were almost as frightened by that as they were of the federales. We all used pseudonyms so in case of a bust no one knew any government names to give, and as far as I know, no one ever got caught. I can say this now because the draft dodgers were granted amnesty, and the statute of limitations ran out on my/our aiding and abetting ages ago. I was and remain proud of that work. I am deeply ashamed of what my government has become, and I love our Canadian brothers and sisters. Let us remain allies and work to restore sanity in every possible way.
I'm aware that many are protesting all over the country, and here's what I want to see going forward. Whether it's 50501, No Kings, May Day, or a different organized or disorganized or spontaneous protest, I want the entire crowd to chant "Epstein! EPstein!! EPSTEIN!!!" just as in 1984's Two Minutes' Hate the crowd shouted "Goldberg! GOLDberg!! GOLDBERG!!!" Whenever you're part of a protest, make it so. We're counting on YOU. Good day, beloved Wonketteers. I love and appreciate you all and I bless us all with love, health, peace, and grace.
Please, please stay safe. Wear a mask or two, wash your hands, sanitize when you cannot wash and let the sanitizer dry completely, stop touching your face, take Vitamin D, get a booster shot six months after your last, and catch up on any other vaccinations you need, avoid indoor and crowded outdoor gatherings and when you must meet, remove masks only to eat, drink, and take quick photos, and stay the fuck away from me and everyone with whom you do not share a roof. Do this because you love yourself, and because I love you, too. Do this in memory of dear departed family and friends like Forever 27 Treg and heroic Tony, Holly's pilot friend, among nearly eight million dead worldwide. Do this to honor the nurses and other frontline medical personnel (we love and appreciate you, Medicos of Wonkette), particularly ICU Hera Mrs Land Shark RN. Be kind, especially to yourself, and please stay safe.
Slava Ukraini. 🌻🇺🇦💙💛
I thought you said Berdertown.