I hear you, 0524!!! I've actually gotten fairly good service from the airlines (I'm 20 but because I'm lazy about shaving look at least 22), but since I've started (fairly recently) travelling transatlantic without my family, I seem to have become a target for U.S. customs (and let me add that I am a US citizen).
When entering at PHL in September, I was
1) Young
2) Long-haired (somewhat-it was just falling over the collar in back)
3) Wearing super-casual clothing

My backpack had been torn so it was inside another bag .

I was pulled aside at customs and in addition to having all my bags opened and the contents (mostly my dirty laundry!) emptied and thoroughly searched, I had to spend what seemed like an eternity (but was probably 10 minutes) answering questions about:
1) What I activities I engage in in Europe
2) Why I was bringing in unused stationary (it was a gift for my sister)
3) Why I was bringing in a broken backpack (I explained that I was returning it to the manufacturer)
4) What agricultural products I was bringing in (this had been my only declaration)
5) What my melatonin tablets were for

Finally, they apparently decided they couldn't nail me for anything, so they wrapped up and I had to spend another 5 minutes putting everything back in my luggage. Here's the clincher: after all this probing, they failed to catch the one thing I had brought in which was illegal - a bottle of wine off the plane (only allowed if you're 21, as I found out afterwards, since customs enforces state alcohol laws) .

Update:

Flew into PIT on 12/24 and customs let me through without a lot of probing - the fact that I was relatively well-dressed this time may have helped to make up for the backpack (I probably looked more like an exec at a startup than the detested "student"). Of course, the US Envoy Class luggage tags may have helped as well .

Yonatan

[This message has been edited by yonatan (edited 12-29-2000).]