A gentleman of 83, troubled by a guilty conscience, recently wrote to the Customs Service's Canada Pre-clearance Operations office in Chicago about an episode that happened in 1961. He had bought a suit for $55 during a day trip in Victoria, British Columbia. He bought it at a time when there was a $25 exemption for trips of 24 hours or less.

Asking whether he would need to clear the suit through Customs, he got conflicting information: First he was told that he wouldn't have to and then, after it was too late to make other arrangements, he learned that he in fact would have to clear it. He was annoyed about the bad information he'd gotten, annoyed that he could not stay in Canada long enough to meet the 48-hour rule, annoyed that there was, in his words, a "customs barrier between these two sister nations." So when it came time for clearance, he simply said the suit was old.

Fast-forward 40 years. Aware of his mortality, he began to "scrutinize [his] past" in order to "put right any of [his] improper actions." So he contacted Customs to redeem himself.

Customs rose to the occasion, as you might have guessed. Robert Johnson, Port Director, Salt Lake City, paid him a visit - in uniform. Johnson told him the duty was dismissed and thanked him for acting on his deep moral conviction. And Acting Commissioner Winwood sent him a letter reaffirming that the duty was forgiven. In the letter, he enclosed a handsome Customs pen. Winwood also wrote, "I hope the error will cease to trouble you. Your unmistakable honesty and courage in letting us know how that incident of 40 years ago continues to trouble your conscience more than makes up for your mistake."