The theft of our mail from Finland was not the first time our family was victimized by American mind police interference with the mails while we were in Amsterdam. As many American tourists do, we arranged before leaving to have most of our money mailed to us in care of the American Express office on the Dam. As our supply of American Express traveler's checks dwindled, I went to this office every day and stood in line thinking that our mail could not possibly be delayed another day. I knew that it had been posted to us shortly after we left the States, by Express Mail in two large envelopes addressed to me in care of the American Express office in Amsterdam. Every inquiry I made got nowhere. Nobody knew anything. We were eventually reduced to living in dormitories at a kind of shelter (the "Sleep-In"). When that closed, we (my wife, my 12 year old daughter and I) ran out of money completely and spent one night shivering in telephone booths in front of the central railroad station. In the morning, we walked up the Dam and were informed once again that there wasn't any mail for us at American Express. I then walked to the American Consulate (which was surrounded at that time with coils of barbed wire) and threatened to spend the following night in an Amsterdam newspaper office, telling them the whole story. The consul loaned me some spending money and gave us vouchers to use at the Youth International Hotel (a pleasant, friendly establishment, as it turned out). Several more days went by. I told our story to everyone I thought might be in a position to help, including Nick Visser, owner of the hotel. At last, a little slip of paper arrived. It directed me to go to a certain window at the central post office. There, the original slip of paper was taken from me and I was given another slip of paper with an address on the outskirts of Amsterdam, on Archangel Street, written on it. The address turned out to be a large warehouse, one of several similar buildings with few or no markings to identify them in an area highly reminiscent of those Hollywood sets in which secret agents and such are depicted doing devious deeds. There were only three or four people in the place. I went up to the main counter and was directed to a large room off the side of the building. Another counter with almost empty metal racks behind it. One guy seemed to be working at these racks and another came up to the counter and took my slip of paper. Sure enough, two large Express Mail envelopes. I opened them on the spot. Lots of checks. The guy behind the counter, with a kind of winkish conspiratorial smile, made motions suggesting that I dump the now empty envelopes in a trash container standing conveniently near by. I shook my head negatively and departed. Do I blame the employees of American Express for doing what they were told to do by the DEA? Of course not. However, if you are an American who plans to travel in Europe next summer, you might consider entrusting your mail to Thomas Cook and Sons. 04/22/1998 6:17:27 AM Art Kleps