I just started a new job as a
guard on
border patrol. Maybe patrol is the wrong word - it was a small crossing with only
pedestrian traffic off a
ferry which crossed the
river only a few times a day. There were about a half dozen other
guards, and our main duty was to handle this small rush of
traffic those few times a day. We would stand
behind the
counter (which was
outdoors) and
stamp people's
forms with this incredibly small
stamp with incredibly large letters and numbers on it (one letter, 2 numbers - mine read A60 and used a stamp pad with gold colored ink). I was told that it was important to stamp three separate areas on the
form, all within inches of each other. The rush of
people would be over within
15 minutes, and we would walk back to our station where we would sit around and talk. We had a
cruiser with flashing lights and the
whole nine yards, but our entire area of control was no more than a few hundred yards around where the
ferry docked. The first "rush" of people was so small, that I spent the entire time standing beside the
cruiser and watched the other guards clear all the people in a matter of minutes. Before I could walk over to
help, they were done.
After work, the boss and his SO (wife?) took me to a restaurant where we discussed card games but didn't actually play any.....