"They Can't Do That To People" - A Flashback to Loss of Control...to Bureaucracy... This Timen PA Turnpike!

I had one of my "nightmares" last night...

Caused by the PA Turnpike... Here's the flashback scene I went over and over...

When I realized that I needed help that morning--I couldn't stop crying--I first called a close friend from my church and when she didn't answer, I called the Pastor...

He and his wife came immediately and when they got to my living room, I dropped to my couch and cry, "pray for me..."
Which they did...

But, I could not stop crying...and saying over and over..."They Can't Do that to People." "It isn't right!" I cried and talked but it seemed that I was watching the entire episode from somewhere else...I knew some part of my mind was realizing that I was going to get the help I needed...

They did two things: they had no hesitation to tell me to seek medical help immediately...And, later, they gave me a tape of quiet worship songs on a disk... I was unable to interact coherently with people...

I had Burnout! I couldn't deal with the actions that I'd been asked to do for so many years... My doctor told me it was my job or my life... I did not go back to work for many months having been immediately put on a medical leave of absence...

.....

So what caused this particular flashback?

I had had a run-in with a PA Turnpike employee regarding a bill I had received...

I violated the law, it seems, and I was being charged for going through(?) a turnstall without paying...

I did do that... Let me tell you why...

My sister and I had started toward a local discount store, Ollie's to look for a grass trimmer...However, since we hadn't been out that way for months, we were confronted with a lot of new roadways that had been constructed. Neither of us had any idea where to go...no signage...no directions...nothing...so I tried to get out of there quickly since I could see the older part of town I knew. I turned and went up a little hill and was confronted with a lone toll booth! There had been no notice that I was heading for the turnpike! Nor did I want to get on to the Turnpike since I was heading for a local store!

 Nope! No signage, no roof...not anything like where I was

 Nope! No signage, no open sign, nothing about but one booth!

 Nope! No signage, cost info. Stop Sign...Not This booth either!

CLOSE. The toll booth stood alone, all by itself...but no signage and certainly no nice man to help! Must I go take a picture to prove this booth should not have been operational?!!!

We sat at the toll gate...if we put money in, where would we be headed? We couldn't tell! There was nobody in the booth to ask or seek help...It was a toll booth sitting out in nowhere--it nevertheless wanted $1.35...for what? to leave a turnpike I had not been on? to go forward to a turnpike I didn't want to go on?

It wasn't the money that was the issue... My sister and I were totally psyched out... What the??? So I cut off to the side to an old road, to get away from that booth! Can you blame me?

Then the computer eyes caught up with this criminal owing $1.35 for not agreeing to pay to go nowhere...

Now that wasn't bad enough--I'll just make a call, since the cost was now  $26.35! And clear this thing up because that was a toll both in the middle of nowhere, seemingly...

Jessica was her name...She told me that another, black car sitting next to me was able to pay and go through...so I was in violation, noting smugly that I had a red car, right?

Which I never said I didn't do it... But...she went on...

"I'm sitting here watching you and you have a red car and there is a black car sitting next to you and going through at the same time you are..."

Now, I couldn't help it; I told her she had to be lying because there was only one booth and it was out in the wilderness with no other cars (which I could have gained help from, I would have assumed) around when I was at that booth and the picture of my license plate was taken...

She smartly told me there was no use arguing with her...

Now my computer brain went to work--after I had already called my sister and we went over what happened...She verified, no other booth...no black car...

The only thing I can think of is that the system sorts on the time...so if I was at this lone booth with nobody or cars around, then if there was a black car...it was at another booth, somewhere in Pennsylvania, going through some other booth...
But Jessica had smugly said the black car sat beside me at the next booth... I was getting angry...and mad...and you wouldn't like to see me in that condition...because I start to cry in frustration and that makes me angrier! Damn bureaucracy which does not make mistakes!

Sooooo, I hope you can understand why I had the dream...

"They Can't Do That to People! We were two senior citizens heading to a discount store, now confronted with the PA Turnpike saying we had entered and then left the Turnpike without paying.... and of course our still not knowing where we were...

As soon as we found a store, my sister went in and inquired for directions to Ollie's and told the man who worked there what had happened.  His response, "There's a toll booth near here?!!!

Can you believe this? It happened...

The telling story...My sister was talking to our cousin yesterday and told her why I had called upset...She explained that the same thing had happened to her...Only she paid the full amount, because she didn't want to get in trouble or go through the hassle of the bureaucracy we all have to go through with something like this...

Latest, my niece said the same thing happened to her co-worker...She also chose to pay the full fee/fine!

Soooo, my sister calls our State Police Barracks which is located close to the "scene of the crime..." Apparently he understood totally and indicated that I should call the Commission in Harrisburg if I felt the employee had been rude...

I explained that it wasn't the rudeness that bothered me...it was that I believed she did indeed have a computer sitting in front of her that told her what she was saying...

And we knew it was wrong...when I told my sister she said, well, then, it had to be doctored! My guess was that what she was seeing is what the programmer had given her to see...she had been given proof that "falsely" showed something that did not exist...It still boggles my mind to wonder...on purpose, or pure stupidity??? And I tend not to think about stupidity when confronting computer problems/glitches... Computers are only the tool of people, after all... It was either done by accident or cunning...or lack of training of the employee managing the system...

Now I know how Pennsylvania is building their roads...by hook or by crook...

But do I fight or pay the damn bill...I'm so sick of this type of crap... America has changed...greatly...and not for the better...

Would you pay the $26.35, the full bill including "administrative costs," the $1.35, or call the Commission as suggested by the State Police? What I know is that my depression is back...I can't deal with crap like this anymore...

Good thing I have good books in which to escape! I'll go tell you about one right now...