Juan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He’s got two
large bags over his shoulders.
The guard stops him and says, “What’s in the bags?”
“Sand,” answered Juan.
The guard says, “We’ll just see about that - get off the bike!”
The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out
and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains Juan overnight and
has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing but
pure sand in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand
into new bags, hefts them onto the man’s shoulders, and lets him
cross the border.
The next day, the same thing happens. The guard asks, “What have
you got in the bags?”
“Sand,” says Juan.
The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the
bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan,
and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle.
This sequence of events is repeated every day for a year.
Finally, Juan doesn’t show up one day and the guard meets him in
a Cantina in Mexico.
“Hey, Buddy,” says the guard, “I know you are smuggling
something. It’s driving me crazy. It’s all I think about… I
can’t sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?”
Juan sips his beer and says, “Bicycles.”
