Czechoslovakia 1978

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, digital wristwatches, Polski Fiat, customs officers, Radio Free Europe, yellow soda, Moravia, Babička & Czech polkas. Hidden in my suitcase, carefully wrapped in white tube socks and Fruit of the Loom underwear, was the capitalist contraband I was smuggling to my relatives behind the Iron Curtain: several dozen packets of Wrigley’s Spearmint chewing gum, a carton of Marlboro cigarettes and ten digital wristwatches.