Fun At The Border

I recently took a vacation to England, and had a terrific time seeing the sights and taking in the historic landmarks. Since I'm still a bit in the closet at home, and was travelling alone, I took along some of my femme clothing along so I could experience some of London's transgender nightlife. On Wednesday, I got dressed up and went to the nightclub "Heaven", a predominantly gay bar, which hosts a drag show in the upstairs dance floor. This club is a lot of fun, with great d.j.'s and a trendy crowd. On Saturday, I ventured out to the Way Out Club, and again had a great time mingling with sisters from all over England.

On my return trip, however, I had an unexpected meeting - with the customs agent at Logan Airport in Boston. This wasn't the first time I've been pulled aside by Customs - I tend to travel alone, and single men travelling alone tend to draw the attention of US Customs agents. It was, however, the first time I had been stopped at the customs desk with a suitcase containing a dress, wig, breast forms, make up, etc. Right off the bat, I was lucky in one regard - a female customs officer was to search my bags. Had some Billy Bob type pulled me out of line, I may have dropped dead on the spot.

Anyway, I was given the usual third degree by the Agent, who asked my name, where I travelled to, where I stayed, what I did in the States, etc. (Having been searched at Customs before, I know the drill, so nothing in the interview was out of the ordinary.) Then I had to open my bags for inspection. I lined up the three suitcases (a sure tip-off - too much luggage for one person!) on the table in this order - first the suitcase which contained souvenirs I had brought with me, then the suitcase full of dirty laundry, lastly my suitcase containing my femme essentials. My heart was pounding as I tried to keep my hands from shaking while inserting the key into the padlocks on the individual suitcases. I accorded the Agent the full respect of her position as a US Government Agent, and calmly (I hope) explained to her exactly what was in the suitcases as I opened them.

When she got to the last suitcase, I drew a deep breath and very calmly told her "This bag contains women's clothing. I am a crossdresser, and I brought some outfits along so I could attend some transgender clubs in London." As she looked through my clothing and make -up kit, she thanked me for being honest with her. She told me that if I had tried lying my way around it, she might have thought I was trying to hide something or perpetrate a fraud of some sort. As I locked up my luggage, (and as my heartbeat started to return to normal), the Agent again thanked me for my help and sent me on my way.

The lesson learned here is when confronted by a Customs agent (or any government law enforcement official for that matter) the first rule is to stay calm and be honest!

And I have filed this whole incident in my internal "that which does not kill me makes me stronger" file.