Illinois Trollway

Tuesday January 29th, 2008 - Lake Villa, IL

Not much going on today but I did do something I said I’d never do. I bought one of the Illinois Tollway transponders for my car. I’ve been resisting it for years but after having it be a hassle for so long I just decided to be done with it. Now the government can keep me under surveillance even more but at least I don’t have to deal with the apes in the booths.

I have a complete disdain for those people and I don’t hide it. In my warped mind it’s a loser mentality that takes a job in a toll booth. With all their brains, looks, hopes, dreams, education and luck all they could come up with in life is sitting in a booth sniffing a lot of exhaust blow by and going nowhere while their brains get smaller and asses get bigger.

Maybe I’m wrong and I hope I am but that’s the vibe I get from those people. And have you ever seen anyone in a toll booth you want to ask out for a date? I may not be a looker myself but those people are one step away from being rejected at a bus station. They’re all unshaven and miserable looking and then they don’t even hurry up to give me my change.

I’m in a hurry because I’ve got dreams to catch. I need a receipt because I pay my taxes and keep records and do my best to live an above board life with a clear conscience. It’s a constant struggle to make ends meet every month but I’m out there slugging away anyway trying to get my piece of the American dream. I don’t need to be delayed by a toll troll.

Personally I think the whole damn system is a giant scam. Where does that money go? I remember riding on the tollway as a kid with my grandpa and asking him why we needed to stop and put money in the little basket that looked like a urinal. He told me ‘Because in ten years when the roads are paid off they’ll take them away.’ I remember that even today.

Gramps died in ‘81 and there’s no sign of them ever getting taken away. Where is all of that cash going? Is there EVER a discount? No. Not once. How do I know that money has not been used to throw a Tupperware party in Springfield? I’m a paying customer and I’m entitled to a printout, right? Everyone just plows through and doesn’t ask any questions.

I don’t know why I get so worked up over the whole paid road system but it really boils my spittle. I have all kinds of alternate routes I take to avoid paying tolls and I would take a dirt road through a cornfield in a tornado just to avoid paying that stupid buck toll. It’s a pet peeve of mine and I had to put that pet to sleep. I’m now another transponder number.

This isn’t the only thing that twists my nipples either. I’m not fond of the grocery stores that keep track of how many Oreos I buy either. Why do they have to know? What’s next, a microchip in my toilet seat to see if I’m eating enough fiber? It’s only going to get a lot worse and there isn’t much anybody can do about it so at least I got a chance to vent a bit.

Other than that it was a pretty good day. I had lunch with Marc Schultz and talked about all kinds of stuff to market to the corporate world for getting gigs and that could be a plus for both of us. I’ll need his help if those gigs come in and if they do I’ll still avoid tolls.