In the pre 9/11 days, crossing was a much more laid back affair. I emigrated from the U.S. to Canada in the late 70s, but have always retained my U.S. citizenship. Until 1988, I remained working in the U.S., commuting daily. Some of the customs officials on both sides were very laid back with the daily commuters, some were hard nose sticklers for asking all necessary questions. One U.S. official we called 'Bertha' seemed to always be on early in the morning, and it was not uncommon for her to have U.S. bound traffic backed up. As I came through the toll booth (in that era it was on the U.S. side), I asked Louie the ticket taker "Bertha in the booth?" Louie lived in Ridgeway, and said to me "I drive over here daily, and she always asks me where I am going. I am going to park in that lot over there, pick up my till, walk right past you, and go sit in that booth 150 feet away. Where the #£@€ does she think I'm going?!"