Taking up the tacks

Upon returning from a trip to Morocco in April ’07, we were going through Customs in New York with a large Berber rug that we had purchased in Fez.

As we declared it to the Customs agent, he asked us in a very exaggerated tone, “And is this carpet going to be a wall hanging?” He was almost nodding his head up and down, so we got the message and said “Yes.”

He then said, “Oh, good, because if it were a carpet for the floor, you would have to pay duty on it.”

My husband thanked him profusely and told him he was the most pleasant and accommodating Customs agent we’d ever encountered, to which he replied, “If you think I am nice this time, next time I will even take the trip for you.”

CLAUDIA REED

Las Vegas, NV