NATALIE NAVIGATOR

146 – Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Today, I had a job interview scheduled for 10:30 AM. I left right on time, but since I was headed to an area of Tampa which was less familiar than normal, I plugged the information into my dashboard GPS navigational system, known for taking me right to the doorstep of any location I program in – Cynthia and I have dubbed the unit, ‘Natalie Navigator’, and she has remained incredibly faithful – until today, when she decided to be slightly dyslexic. I say that, for after starting me out on a familiar path, I was soon deposited onto a toll section of road for a mere mile-and-a-half then instructed, in a voice too seductive for me to resist in any way, to exit at the next ramp, which I did. To my chagrin, there were only two gates for me to use, one, the Florida SunPass lane (a sensor-driven system that automatically deducts the requisite fees from your pre-paid account) and the second, a ‘deposit exact coins only’ lane. Unfortunately, I had neither – uh oh! The Florida DOT also is renowned for having those pesky little Kodak moments available on a digital format – am I doomed? Prominently displayed at the roadside was an aluminum rectangle bearing some sort of inscription in blue lettering, something about a $100 penalty or something-or-other for failure to pay blah, blah, whatever! I guess I could have put the car in reverse and backed up onto the toll road again, but that, too, is breaking the law - and a whole lot more perilous. The moment I arrived home, I sought the DOT website and sent an immediate email to the comptroller offering to tape two quarters to a card to remit the fifty cents I owe to the state if she would just let me know the where and how. I pleaded my case immediately in hopes that my ‘best of intentions’ might offer me some sort of amnesty – what do you think? Please send in your votes endorsing my acquittal, in the event that I am arrested, so I can use the results of the poll to make my case based on a preponderance of public opinion. A thought just occurred to me – I need to convince DOT to install debit machines in the booths that they choose to leave unmanned – I could have paid my four-bits if they would have had it today! Am I a genius or what? (Be careful – the answer to that question is NOT to be included in the survey!!)

This blog is posted on: http://rlarrison.blogspot.com/ and http://myspace.com/rlarrison