So we dipped back into the States yesterday, for only the second time since we came to Canada. We went down to Bellingham, Wash., to meet up with the redoubtable Todd Downing and his equally redoubtable wife, Sam. They're the people who publish my gaming stuff. I've worked on a couple projects now for their company, Deep 7.

(you know, I really don't know what redoubtable means - yes I could look it up in a heartbeat but go with me here - but it seems a pretty good thing to throw in front of names, unlike "damn your black heart," which really only goes well in front of Gordon Van Gelder, the rejecting demon...)

But I digress. Of course you already knew that.

So we drove down into Washington state, which pretty much requires that you cross the border, which pretty much requires that you wait in a long line of cars and deal with customs.

So we sat there for a half hour or so while the cars slowly inched foward. There was a guy with a little freezer cart, standing smack dab in the middle of the road, and selling ice cream and soft drinks as cars crept by.

And finally we pulled up to the booth. The customs guy comes out in his little SWAT team uniform, because this is America we're entering here, and he's a friendly guy. Yeah, he's got to be on the lookout for terrorists smuggling suitcase nukes into the country but let's face it, 99.99% of the people he deals with are just everyday, nice folks. So he's friendly, and I'm sure he figures we're just what we look like. But he's also got to troll to see if there's something dodgy about people.

So he checks our plates. "Maryland, huh!" all excited. And he wanders around to the back of the car jotting stuff down on his form.

"ML or MY?" he yells.

"Huh?"

"Abbreviation for Maryland."

"MD."

"MD? Wow, I was totally off. We don't get too many cars from Maryland up here."

Now I admit they probably don't get too many cars from Maryland up here (though there was some stretch cab pickup, equipment trailer monstrosity with Florida tags in the next lane). But I think this guy probably knew what the abbreviation for Maryland is, and just wanted to see if we did.

Really, haven't these things been drilled into Americans' heads by now? As a little test, see if you know these states off the top of your head.

Kansas

Michigan

Nevada

Arkansas

So anyway, we passed the little state abbreviation test and he sent us on our way. The Downings were lovely. It rained on the way back, but that's what happens around here, and Elisa picked up some Mentadent toothpaste, apparently unavailable in Canada, and a couple boxes of U.S. Wheat Thins, which are available here, but they're made differently and they really aren't as good. So all turned out well. And it's always much easier getting back into Canada than into the U.S.