Wednesday, June 23, 2010

the present moment...

Please welcome Se'Lah from NECESSARY ROOM, I've invited her to drop by with a guest post. I hope you enjoy it because I did. I think we've all had moments like this and can identify.
i could have seen the homeless drug addict
with the lasting remnants of a life gone by
wrapped tightly in her Vera Wang overnight bag
but i saw the survivor seeking out change
and i prayed for her.

I often ponder about who gets paid to design traffic. I was driving down this road one day, in no particular rush when I came upon a sign that said "toll booth ahead". Nothing more, just toll booth ahead. So I stayed in my left hand lane and drove up to the booth, with my 75 cents in hand. I waited patiently in line and when I finally got there, there was no one inside the booth. (dem people ya lazy). I look around. No sight of a toll booth collector in the lanes surrounding me. At this point, I can only breathe and look up to reason with JAH.
When out of the beautiful blue sky appeared the sign, "EZ Pass only".

There's no way to get over to the Cash lanes, whose signs are now prominently displayed above the booths. I can't back up. These people trying to give me a ticket. So, I drive through knowing their camera will take my vehicle's plate and I carefully but determinedly drove over to the administrative building next to this rip off of a toll booth. No one there would take my money. The toll is 75 cents. I am trying to pay them 75 cents. What is wrong with this picture? I breathe deeply again. Obviously common sense has completely escaped this bunch so I climbed in my car and drove away. I prayed for them and I wondered how much this ticket for a 75 cents toll was gonna cost me. sigh...then, I let it go.

About a month later, the ticket arrived in the mail. I opened it unhappily, glanced over it with the eyes of a legal eagle, and was really confused when I saw that the ticket was for 75 cents. Yes. 75 cents. Somewhere, someone cut down a majestic tree to make paper to generated this bill. Valuable time was spent stuffing this bill in an envelope. A 44 cents stamp was placed on this envelope. And, that envelope was mailed to me carefully delivering a 75 cent ticket. Exhale. I could have seen only what common sense can cure but I choose to be thankful for their honesty.
JAH loves me.
and so I pass it on to you.
one love.
*Give thanks to Chris, for allowing me to play in your room ;). Breathe consciously in the present moment. What a wonderful moment! Se'lah.

18 comments:

PinkInklings said...

I am wondering; will you pay by check and if your checking is 'free'? Then I think about the 44 cents for the stamp. But if you send them 'change' for the 75 cents, you'll have to pay for extra postage. Unless you go to some official building, but then there's probably a parking meter. Thank heavens for free speech ;)

Elisabeth said...

Well that's a relief, however wasteful.

Most likely it's all computer generated and computers can't yet think for themselves.

Great story though.

Cindy said...

Great story Selah. one love. Selah is a dear dear soul, I cherish her.have a great day.

Birdie said...

that is an interesting story ... and I thought that in Europe we are the only ones to pay for everything ... :-) It's always a pleasure to visit with Chris and Se'lah! one love.

Lisa Johnson said...

Have to laugh at this one! You try and do the right thing, but sometimes red tape gets in the way and all you can do is accept it and take a deep breath. : )

Tracy said...

Funny how things come about, turn around, etc... Never a dull moment--LOL! Wonderful post from Se'Lah. My first visit to this blog--beautiful, thoughtful place. :o)

Shelby and Bev said...

what a world!! crazy isn't it??!! i am sure god just shakes his head...

Kim Mailhot said...

Thank God for Deep Breaths!
We really need them so often in this crazy world...

Gayle said...

I'm surprised that they didn't add on a large penalty. So glad they didn't.

Marilyn Miller said...

So glad it was a ticket for only 75 cents. My husband did that and received a ticket for $40.

christina said...

i love the story. and so glad it was only the original charge. loving these photos, as well.

*waving to chris* ; )

A Box of Chocolates said...

Ha Ha red tape and computers they have us baffled I love your big deep breathes just breathe sometimes it's the only way to continue hey!

Love this story thanks Se'Lah
xx

SE'LAH... said...

So nice to see so many friends here. Smiling, as I type ;) Thanks again Chris, for inviting me over. It is always a pleasure to share your company. one love.

graceonline said...

What a strange set of circumstances. The the title of the blog, the drug addict who lost her way and appears to be finding it again, or trying to, followed by the wrong lane, the empty toll booth and the minuscule fine.

How easy it is to get in the wrong lane--in traffic and in life--when the path is not clearly marked. How easy to lose focus, cross into a danger zone. How well protected we can be, if we ask for help.

Thanks for this. I take it as a warning I intend to heed.

Darcel @ The Mahogany Way said...

I don't care for those toll booths. At least they were honest and your ticket was 75 cents. Still they could have just let you pay it while you were there.

p.s. Chris - Thanks for the card :)

Relyn Lawson said...

Hi, Chris. Hi, Se'lah. Thank you both for this wonderful, funny post. I have been laughing at all the instances of bureaucracy you've reminded me of.

Chris said...

It's very infuriating now that there's EZ Pass, which I refuse to get. By the time I find the Cash Only lane I'm normally in the opposite direction and you take your life in your hands trying to manuever safely through several lanes of converging traffic. I guess it would be too easy to use common sense and put the EZ Pass lanes on the left and Cash Only on the right. I'm glad the bill was only for 75 cents. Thanks Se'Lah for a great guest post. When will you be dropping by again?

SE'LAH... said...

I so enjoy these play dates with my blog friends. Thanks to all for hanging out with me at Chris' house.

*Chris, I'll be over whenever you invite me again. (wink).

one love, to all.