[Harp-L] Travel and airline checks.....

["Tom Ellis" <tomsmics@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've travelled of and on, overseas and within the US, with my 545 for years and never had a problem.  Same thing with harps, packed loosely, in a harp case, etc.  US inspectors have almost always known it was a mic and always ID harps.  I did, however, have one very interesting run in with customs a few years back in Morocco.  I had a small case full of harps in my carry-on and when I went through I was immediately pulled aside.  The agent, who spoke good English and fluent French, asked me to pull them out and had me hand all five of them to him for closer inspection.  We had some very small talk, and at the end of the exam he looked me straight in the eye, with as stern a look as I've ever had at customs, and said, "So you say you can play these things.  Then prove it."  I smiled thinking it was a joke.  He was deadly serious.  I played about 60 seconds of Juke, he thanked me, then let me go.  He never broke stride.  Even today I wonder if he didn't stifle a huge laugh over the whole thing.  But that day, in the Agadir airport, six months after the Iraq invasion, you weren't going to mess around with Muslim customs officers.  Especially when you were the only American on the flight.......TOM ELLIS/Tom's Mics