I spent most of my life living around the Detroit area.  Just a short drive across the bridge or tunnel from Windsor, Ontario in Canada.  I was talking to my Detroit-based brother the other day, and he had a new story about crossing the border.

It’s much more difficult now, of course.  Pre-911 it was pretty easy to scoot back and forth.  But, there are always stories.

I once worked with a Canadian in downtown Detroit.  She reveled in being able to avoid paying duty for things she purchased in the U.S.  Normally, she just hid her purchases in purses – or her underwear. 

But, the kicker was the time she came to work wearing not much more than a raincoat.  She’d purchased a dress in the U.S. and put it on once she got to work.

My favorite story is the one about a trip I took with a co-worker to a Canadian plant location.  The gentleman I was traveling with was one of a kind.  He had shifty eyes at the best of times.  He also was a chain smoker.

He was driving when we arrived at Canadian customs.  With his shifty eyes, and his habit of smoking like he just finished serving a long stretch at a non-smoking prison, and constantly brushing off the ashes he dumped all over himself, I was wishing I was at the wheel.

Sure enough, the Customs lady was almost immediately suspicious.  She asked all the usual questions, like where were you born, what is the purpose of your trip, how long will you be in Canada, and so forth.

After getting the answers from my Don-Knotts-lookalike companion, she started filling out some paperwork.  I knew we were dead meat.  Then came the piece de resistance.

She asked if we had any firearms.  My companion said, “FIREARMS! I don’t have any firearms!!” 

Then, he actually turned to me and asked, “Do YOU have any FIREARMS?!?!”

I about fell out of the car.  And so we were instructed to pull over to the customs building, where we were treated to a polite but thorough examination of our documents, briefcases and car.  Luckily, there were no body searches.

Needless to say. . .   I drove when we passed through Customs on the way home.

Actually, I’m writing this the night of the 20th, while the President and Michelle Obama are making their way to all of the 10 inaugural balls.  I’ll bet they’ll be really glad when all the activities of the day are over!

This was quite a day.  I took some time off to watch the inauguration, and then watched some of the coverage tonight of the inaugural balls.  To be honest, I’ve been choked up for a good part of the day.

I think part of it is because we now have a President that I can believe in more than any other in a very long time.  I think part of it is because of the amazing excitement and outpouring of emotion that accompanied this event.

I’m sure, being that I grew up during the fight for civil rights, I’m emotional about a black man becoming President.  But, I think it’s much more than that, too.

Not since the days when I was part of a generation that cared so deeply about the things in the country that we wanted to change, have I seen or felt the raw energy of this nation’s people coming together in one cause.  And, I think I’ve missed that feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself more than I realized.

I don’t believe that all of the 1.5 million+ people in the nation’s capitol today were there because it was an historic moment in race relations.  I believe that we are at the start of what could be a new way for the government and the people to relate to one another.  I believe that part of what brought all those people to the capitol was the potential for this President to make a difference, and to make us want to make a difference again, too.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, stop by www.WhiteHouse.gov.  The blog looks like it could be very interesting.

If you’re talking to me over the next few days and my phone suddenly cuts off, don’t panic.  The headset I’ve had for the last four or five years has gone bad.  I’m still on the call, it’s just that I can’t hear you.

I have a corded headset.  When it started cutting off today, I discovered that if I bend the wire at a specific point, and in a specific direction, the connection stays constant.  So, now I have almost hands-free telephone capability.  But, it’s more like one hand free, and the other hand has a few free fingers, and if I get it in exactly the right place and don’t breathe, then I have two hands free.

Evidently, this situation could not stand.  So, I started an Internet search for a new headset.  Maybe a cordless one this time, if the sound quality was good.  I went to the website for the phone company (who shall remain nameless because I think I’ve complained about them before) and looked at their headsets.  They make quality products, and I don’t have time to mess around with poor telephone connections, so I wanted to get one of their headsets to go with their phone system that I use.

The site showed the phones and the headsets, but there was nothing in either place that indicated which one went with which.  So, I decided I needed some help.  The website, of course, has no contact phone number, since it’s a store site, and why would you want people contacting you in order to make a purchase, right?

Then, I noticed that the phone has a sticker on it with an 800 phone number.  Ah Ha!  I thought.  I’ve got them now!  Thus started the telephone-answering-system-from-hell routine.

After wading through many “menus”, I discovered a number I could push to get pre-sales assistance.  After listening to another menu of choices based on what kind of assistance I wanted, I picked one.  Did I get transferred to a human being?  No!  The nice lady on the recording referred me back to the website.  But, she did give me a promotion code for 10% off on the purchase.

So, I dialed again, and tried my old trick of pressing random buttons trying to get to an operator.  The “O” didn’t work, neither did the  *, # or anything else I tried.  All I got was the lady on the recording, who I swear sounded a bit annoyed at that point, telling me that I should listen to the menu again, and make a selection from among the available options!!  Sigh.

So, I decided to look elsewhere.  There is a Best Buy close to me, and they are an authorized reseller of the products from the phone company.  However, in checking the Best Buy website, I discovered that the headset I wanted isn’t available at any of the local Best Buys, near or far.

Back to the phone company phone line I went.  I lied to the lady on the recording, and told her I was having a problem with my phone.  Surely, that should work.  Well, it did eventually.  First, I had to spend approximately 45 seconds (which is a long time when you’re on the phone), listening to the lady on the recording describe the 45 things that might be causing the problem I told her I was having.  Luckily, at the end of that diatribe, she offered to let me speak to a customer representative.

The customer rep was very friendly, but of course, he needed my entire life history along with the serial number of the phone I was calling about.  After he slowed down, I admitted that I’d lied, that I didn’t have a problem with my phone, but was trying to purchase a headset that would work with it.  He informed me that the cordless headsets were the latest technology, and would provide better sound quality than the corded ones.  We’ll see if that’s true!

He also explained the difference between two of the models that were available.  Having made a selection, then, I asked: “And, this will work with my phone, right?”

And, he answered: “Well, it depends on the type of phone you have.”

Evidently, he had moved out of telephone repair mode and had forgotten how our conversation started.  He said that he could transfer me to a representative who could expedite the order.  That sounded good, because I need to get both my hands back as soon as possible.  And, he gave me a promotion code good for 10% off the price.  Actually, it was the same one that the lady on the recording had given me.  But, I thanked him and waited for the transfer to the order takers.

The wait for the order taker was interminable.  But, since I wasn’t talking to anyone, I had both hands free, so I just worked while waiting.  Finally, another human being answered the phone.  I explained the purpose for my call.

The order taker explained that it would be better if I purchased the headset online.  I’d get free shipping, and she could give me a promotion code good for 15% off the purchase.  I remained calm, thanked her for the assistance, and decided that 15% off and free shipping was better than someone expediting the order.  By that point, I didn’t believe that anyone there could expedite the order, anyway.

What puzzles me is why the company didn’t tell the customer service person about the 15% promo code and the free shipping.  And, why didn’t they tell him that the order takers he transferred me to wouldn’t take an order?

And, finally, why does a company HAVE order takers if they don’t take orders??

The world is truly a wild and mysterious place. . .

I started listening to contemporary Country music a while ago, and now I’m hooked.  It was rather a surprise.  I wouldn’t describe myself as a Country music sort of person.  But, my problem is that I like to sing to music, not just listen to it.

Back in the day, there were songs you could sing along with, like “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger.  I remember one time I was on a long-distance drive, fortified with my favorite Foreigner tape.  I was rocking out to Head Games and Juke Box Hero, with the pedal to the metal.

It occurred to me that I should clean up my act when a guy in front of me made a bee-line for the right lane, then stared at me with a startled, almost frightened look on his face as I zoomed by.  I’m not sure it was the speed that got him as much as the fact that he probably thought I was yelling at him the entire way.  Likelihood is he couldn’t hear the music. . .

But, then, music got to the point where there was little melody, unusual rhythms and words you could only figure out if you memorized the lyrics from a printout on the CD.  And, half the time you wouldn’t want to know what the song was about, anyway.

So, one day I was playing with the radio and came across the local contemporary Country music station.  And, you could understand the words, the harmonies were great, and the songs were pretty interesting.  Country music has moved beyond the ”I lost my dog and now my girlfriend won’t talk to me” phase.

There are great musicians like Little Big Town, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, and of course, Keith Urban of Nicole Kidman fame.

If you want to know what Country music is all about, find a song called “Songs About Me” by Trace Adkins.

And, if you want to strain your vocal cords on a long road trip, tune in to a good Country music station.  You just might be surprised.

But, don’t worry.  I haven’t invested in the hat and guitar. . .  yet.