So in all the fax machine frenzy yesterday, I never told my toll plaza story. Check this out - pretty hilarious
So I'm cruising along, getting my Christmas shopping done. I'm going up Georgia 400. (If you don't live in ATL, it's the main artery for people going due north from downtown. It gets really crazy and congested in the afternoons!) I'm bad about getting in wrong lanes and whatnot, so I'm really careful this time. One lane says "$0.50" and one lane says "CHANGE". "Well, I'm glad I read these signs," I think to myself. "I don't have exact change - I'd better get in the '$0.50' lane."
WRONG!!! The "CHANGE" lane was for people who NEED change (me), while the "$0.50" lane was for people with EXACT change. I was in the exact change with only a $10 bill to show for myself. This was going to be interesting.
I get up to the place where you throw your money in. There's a "Help" button. I hit it. No response. I hit it again, and this time say "Help, please." Still nothing. Thirty seconds go by (a lifetime in toll plaza time). Horns honking at me. Expletives flying my way. I hit the "help" button again, but this time yell "HELP PLEASE!!!" Nothing.
All of the cars who had been honking at me back up and get in another lane. Good, right? Wrong. About 30 seconds later (a lifetime in toll plaza time, mind you) a whole new round of cars who thought they were getting in the "short" line got behind me and started honking at me.
Then I hear a voice from heaven. Actually it wasn't from heaven - it was from a heating and cooling van in the line behind me. The voice says "You need some change buddy? It's all over the road! Next thing I know, I am in the middle of GA 400, one of the busiest highways in ATL, scrounging around for change. We find $0.40, then the dude goes back to his van and gets - a gun? the riot act to read to me? - a dime.
I put the money in the basket and drove along my merry way, trying to look smooth. It wasn't working.
The funny thing about the whole story is that my friend Carlos (http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com) was a few cars back and saw me, but didn't realize it was me. Good thing, too. Otherwise I would be on YouTube right now!
Comments [0]