French Customs

[Bull Burger]

French Customs

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on bag.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready," snipped the Frenchman. Mr. Whiting replied, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show my passport"

"Impossible, Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!" asserted the officer loud enough to draw attention. The American senior gave the French custom officer a long hard look.

Then he quietly explained:

"Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate your country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to!"

 

[Hanta Yo]

Good one, BB, keep them coming!!!

 

[katrina]

Yessssssssss... Ain't that the truth.........

 

[Anonymous]

Watched the D-Day 50 year commemoration on TV-- With the rows and rows of cross's and Jewish stars in the cemetary...Since my father was a disabled veteran and knowing what he and many others sacrificed during that time made me weep like a baby-- I was proud to be an American, knowing the tyranny we saved those people from.... Americans, Brits, and Canadians landing together to save another country from mass murderers and dictators--Sad situation is that now, we are slammed by the country we saved (France) and one of the countries that was our ally (Canada), as being tyrannists ourselves when we do the same thing.....

As my Norwegian citizen brother in law told me when he quit buying French and Canadian products ( if you could tell where they were from since meat isn't required to be lableled), after the UN antics--- the old people who suffered remember who saved us..........

 

[Bull Burger]

Watched the D-Day 50 year commemoration on TV-- With the rows and rows of cross's and Jewish stars in the cemetary...Since my father was a disabled veteran and knowing what he and many others sacrificed during that time made me weep like a baby-- I was proud to be an American, knowing the tyranny we saved those people from.... Americans, Brits, and Canadians landing together to save another country from mass murderers and dictators-

You're right on here, Oldtimer. We youngsters do appreciate the sacrifices of the WWII generation and all veterans.

-Sad situation is that now, we are slammed by the country we saved (France) and one of the countries that was our ally (Canada), as being tyrannists ourselves when we do the same thing.....

As my Norwegian citizen brother in law told me when he quit buying French and Canadian products ( if you could tell where they were from since meat isn't required to be lableled), after the UN antics--- the old people who suffered remember who saved us..........

Not sure if it's fair to lump together the socialists of eastern Canada with the farm/ranch types of the western part. As for the French, I can only say: Give 'em hell, they deserve it!

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure if it's fair to lump together the socialists of eastern Canada with the farm/ranch types of the western part. As for the French, I can only say: Give 'em hell, they deserve it!

-----

Bullburger- I agree that western farm/ranch groups don't even fit into the same mold-- I have friends in Canada and have spent many an hour socializing and drinking to each others country, health, and wellbeing... Stood on top of the chutes many times as they played both the Star Spangled Banner and the old God Save the Queen- in both countries, before the maple leaf even existed....Good, Good people....

But our country went right, theirs went left- I used to wish for some of the search and arrest laws they had back when I was working drugs- an "administrative secret search warrent" to search to see if you needed to apply to a magistrate to get a search warrent... If I'd have had that I'd have cleaned the country out of drugs- but when the powers to be switched they went 180%...Which still is not the westerners fault....

I've only asked for ONE thing- make all Canadian beef be lableled-- and 90% of the western Canadian producers I know and talk to agree.... Canadians are the pawns in a US producer-packer battle.....

 

[nr]

That was a great post about the passports. And so much truth.
However, I do have to say though, lumping ALL French into one basket isn't fair although I've done it myself.
I have to mention one French gal who I'm indebted to. We were the only two in a train compartment headed from Paris south and I asked her tentatively if she knew English because I needed directions. It turned out she was a veterinarian who tested cattle for the French govt. so we began a halting conversation about BSE and I gave her the Ranchers.net address. We got off at the same city and she helped guide me through the underground to the Roman ruins, showed me how to work their ticket machines (all in French) and was an invaluable friendly help to jet-lagged me. Just goes to show we can't fairly catagorize every Frenchman anymore than we can Americans.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Thanks for that one Bull Burger. My father was one of those "tourists" arriving to liberate France and he would have really appreciated this joke. I have pictures of Dad and his buddies with French citizens, dressed in clothing decorated with American flags, hugging and kissing our soldiers after the liberation. Dad claimed they seemed to have lost the egotistical behavior they had been known for before the war. Isn't it funny how the French have wiped the memory of what America did for them, at the cost of some many young lives, from their collective memory?