 And the satisfaction of sharing the road with other friendly motorists:  Since none of my experiments had any effect on the automated change buckets, which cheerfully allowed me to pass, I concluded that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was the most laid-back government agency ever -- even more than the Department of Motor Vehicles, where most employees spend 92% of their workday in a deep, restful slumber. I felt that if I was going to leave an I.O.U. for a one-dollar toll, however, I should pay up. So I snail-mailed the following letter to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority:  I thought it would be interesting to see whether or not the check would get cashed. It should settle, once and for all, how relaxed they were about paying the tolls. And, hey, while I was sending out letters:  My prediction was that the Turnpike check would get mired in bureaucracy and never get cashed, while Mariah's agents would greedily deposit hers immediately, since they get 15%. |
