We are going to a festival in Las Vegas with our family. The road ahead is tough, and we are thrifty people. Mom took a standard travel kit – fried chicken, cutlets, boiled eggs and fruit. We ate almost everything on the way, and by the time we entered the USA in Los Angeles, we only had apples left, which were about to lose their taste. And the long journey is almost over – passport control has been passed, and we are officially and legally in the USA. HURRAY! But there are apples that need to be eaten. In the baggage claim area, I enthusiastically got down to business. There was no half an apple, and then a police officer approached me. Then a rather absurd dialogue ensues:
– Where did you get this apple?
– I had it with me
– Did you sign a form on the plane stating that you do not have any items with you that are prohibited from being imported into the USA?
I remember that yes, I signed… the terrible words “fine, deportation, visa cancellation” flashed through my head… I mumble “I’m so sorry”, I go to the restroom, throw the apple in the trash. I come out. This officer is standing there and says: “Where is the apple? I need it”. I throw it in the trash, I say. He gives me disposable gloves – look for it, please. Feeling like a hero of some surrealist film (here, Hollywood is not far away) I go to rummage through the trash. Holding the apple in my hand, I leave the restroom, looking with my eyes for such a familiar officer. Wait, dear! I give him the apple – and he also checks if it is the one! And then he explains to me that all plant products without phytosanitary certificates, which includes my long-suffering fruit, must be disposed of in the country in a special way, preventing pests from entering the country (I already understood that this is not about me) from another continent. In short, everyone sighed, and only the officer went on to look for possible violators of the rules. What I want to say is – read what you sign, and do not take anything prohibited to another country!
