{"id":76426,"date":"2014-09-08T15:27:48","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T19:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=76426"},"modified":"2014-09-08T15:27:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T19:27:48","slug":"border-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/08\/border-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Border Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"customs\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The queue for customs was long, and very disorganized. People kept trying to cut\u2014or they cut inadvertently, and were yelled at. But really, it was hard to tell what was a line, and who was in charge, and what they wanted from you. You could only do wrong. It was like being a child in a Roald Dahl story, arbitrary and potentially magical, if you are in the business of silver linings.<\/p>\n

And then suddenly a new officer appeared. He didn\u2019t seem to be standing anywhere official, exactly; I mean, there were no dividers or ropes or podium sorts of things around him. He had just chosen an arbitrary spot kind of near the exit. But he was wearing a uniform and radiated great authority. \u201cNew Line!\u201d he shouted. \u201cI AM A LINE!\u201d<\/p>\n

I was pondering what it meant to be a line\u2014I was very tired\u2014when he beckoned me forward. \u201cNow!\u201d he barked. And then, \u201cSTAY BACK. DO NOT RUSH FORWARD.\u201d And then, \u201cIF YOU HOARD ME, I WILL LEAVE.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you hoard me \/ I will leave.\u201d <\/p>\n

Or maybe:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

if you hoard me<\/p>\n

i will leave<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Even,<\/p>\n

\n

if you<\/p>\n

hoard<\/p>\n

me<\/p>\n

i will leave<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMOVE!\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n

But I am hoarding him now.<\/p>\n

Forever<\/p>\n

And ever. Has he left?<\/p>\n

Welcome<\/p>\n

Home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The queue for customs was long, and very disorganized. People kept trying to cut\u2014or they cut inadvertently, and were yelled at. But really, it was hard to tell what was a line, and who was in charge, and what they wanted from you. You could only do wrong. It was like being a child in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[15225,15227,15223,15224,1558,165,15226,1143],"class_list":["post-76426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-airports","tag-bureaucracy","tag-customs","tag-exhaustion","tag-lines","tag-poetry","tag-queues","tag-roald-dahl"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat It Means to Be a Line?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sadie Stein on the philosophical dilemmas of border control.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/08\/border-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Border Control by Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"September 8, 2014 \u2013 The queue for customs was long, and very disorganized. 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