We´re All Guilty But We´re Not Bad!
January 15, 2012 by rtwsenior
Santiago, Chile, January 15, 2012 ‘ This blog continues the story of my being caught ¨smuggling in¨one little green apple on my flight between Paraguay and ChileÑ
We Busted Ones, myself and several mad German tourists, waited our turn to go before the authorities to have our individual cases adjudicated. There was a possible $200 fine. Wow, that would be my classical Golden Apple, all right. I thought of all of the $100 bills I had recently spent…. including $132 for my Chilean reciprocity fee…which I hadn´t yet been asked for. By now, time was running out since I´d come through most of the gates by this time. Ooops! I decided to ask an agricultural, SAG, agent about that, but couldn´t find one who spoke English.
Daniel did! He´s a SAG agent whom I immediately recognized as an Intergalactic Friend, an IGF, someone whom I´ve known in another lifetime. We always instantly recognize each other. Daniel seemed impressed that I was, essentially, turning myself in about another costly airport matter and he said he would help me solve that problem as soon as this one was resolved. I was now safely under Daniel´s wing. He explained that he must ask me a series of questions and then the decision would be to either forgive the crime or to fine me.
In the process, I heard him mutter to himself, `Öh, Linda, Linda, Linda!` as if he were saying, `How are we going to get you out of this_ .. I smiled happily to myself, knowing that my judge and jury was now my new best friend and advocate. His questions simply allowed me to explain how I had fallen into this criminal act and I told of the exhausting day of hot exploration of Asuncion when I had bought two apples in case I missed the dinner at the hotel, or slept through it once collapsed on the bed. As it turned out, I could only eat one apple and the leftover stayed in the pouch of my big daypack, forgotten until seized by Chile´s vigilant protector of agricultural purity. This is a concept which I understand and applaud because Florida´s borders are also seriously guarded against foreign plant and animal invasion. My mind flashed back decades to the day when our extended family was returning from a Bermuda vacation and one of us was caught with two pink grapefruit copped from our last breakfast.
For this reason, there was no anger or resentment in me as Daniel and I worked our way through this paper-generating legal affair. Meanwhile, the Europeans looked as if they were being fined right and left, chiefly due to their total lack of cooperation and a stubborn denial of guilt in the matter. Soon, Daniel explained in his broken English, that I had been absolved of my crime, since it was committed, essentially, without my knowledge. I then signed several papers allowing them to destruct the offending apple by injecting it with germ-killing blue dye and then burning it completely. Goodness yes, blow that baby up until dead and harmless to Chile´s agriculture.
Now we turned to the reciprocity question and this dear friend left his department to escort me back to the customs officials, checking first with the head of that department. Sure enough, my passport number did not appear on the list of Americans processed that day. So, Daniel accompanied me to a totally new-to-me area where I should have been sent. I was able to fork over my money and receive the page in my passport which would allow me to leave the country without repercussions.
Instead of shaking hands with Daniel to thank him for everything, I touched him affectionately on the shoulder. This was because I had noticed that his right arm and hand were not very usable and that his right leg was also affected in a limp, as if by a slight stroke, though he is a young man. By now, we were such buddies that he was pushing my heavy baggage cart and excorting me to the taxi area. For my part, all through that long hike together through the airport I had been calling forth the Healing Entities from the John of God Healing Casa to come and heal my dear Daniel, Guardian of Chilean crops and American women in need of defending. What a dear man he is and what a propitious introduction to this fabulous, fabulous, fabulous country!
I love this feeling of excitement and discovery so much! The exhilaration at every turn in a new place, which keeps on delivering. Even if my ardor cools eventually as it has in some other countries, I´m hugely grateful for this marvelous love affair I´m having with Chile just now. I can´t even imagine it letting me down….but sometimes that´s the way with New Love. Stay tuned, time will tell!
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