Getting Ready to Go
Above you will find a pic of a carving I was taking to a
friend in New York and in some ways I really like this pic as it is kind of
surreal , almost to the point of abuse of carving as he does look like a
lovable chap concealed away in the garment bag. This was necessary as I needed
to check him in at the Amtrak station in Cleveland to be put in with the
baggage, in the underside of the train.
All went well on
the trip except when I arrived at my destination in Schenectady, he forgot to
get off and traveled one more station before train officials caught up with him
and reloaded him on another train back to Schenectady. In the meantime I had to
wait an additional hour and a half at my destination to assure he was returned
as he was supposed to be. I did take out insurance on his grubby ass just in
case he was damaged somehow in transit.
Fortunately and I
don’t think it has changed much but you can still board trains without baggage
inspection in the USA. This was handy on another occasion as I had a chance to
visit again and this time I was able to smuggle my carving chainsaw into a bag,
along with the bar, minus the gas and oil of course, and transported it from Schenectady,
New York, to Cleveland, Ohio without incident in the overhead storage
compartment of the train.
New York River
I did get a
little nervous when I noticed a pair of INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service’s
officers boarded the train around Buffalo, New York and begin a process of
asking questions of passengers . I tried to remember to answer in full
sentences although I was nervous about the chainsaw hidden in my bag. I avoided
the usual Canadian answers of aye, and instead when asked if I was a U.S.
citizen I answered yes , trying to avoid any suspicion of wrongdoing, or that I
was an illegal alien. I mean really how many Canadians are trying to cross the
border when they have it much better up there after stealing half our
manufacturing economy.
Before
climbing on the train though, I checked the list of unacceptable items to bring
on a train and nowhere did I see them mention a chainsaw. Even though in the
right hands or wrong hands as it may be a lethal instrument. I drained the
gasoline and oil out of it, and at the same time I also was carrying with me a
carving I needed to finish when I returned home. It was a fish and I have a
picture of it also, as I checked it to see if it fit in the carry-on restricted
size allowed to store it in the overhead compartment.
my friend sharon and i at a carving place in new york
Now that is
something you don’t see every day, a man and his fish and chainsaw taking a
ride on an Amtrak train. I was hoping the INS guys didn’t have any fancy
instruments, or a dog that would alert to the possibility of controlled
substances like gasoline. Seriously folks with all I had going on the way it
was, I wasn’t dumb enough to carry anything illegal in the way of smoking
material with me . I already had enough going on with the fish and chainsaw and
didn’t need any more attention drawn to me. I smoked it all before getting on
the train, as I needed something to steady my nerves.
finished fish
You never know
with this post 9/11 crap going on what is going to be the next rule. I can remember
my brother boarding a plane in the 80’s with a repeating rifle, and asking the stewardess
where they wanted to store it. They were concerned but not to the point that
they didn’t let him fly. He was ex-service and soon they were in the air ,
rifle and him, both headed for Ohio. The good old days I guess. Try that one
now.
Anyhow I will
include some pics of the fish, and of the time I had in New York. Enjoy.
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