Thruway Authority

   I just read that a tollbooth worker in Herkimer was arrested for stealing funds from the Thruway Authority. It triggered a memory of my driving home from Herkimer, one of many times from our meetings over 15 years.
    This particular day, I was alone entering the thruway booths, and because the booth there, and then, was rather isolated and far to the left of the lane  I was driving in, I assumed there'd be another closer to me before I got on the Thruway. But no, there was only the one booth, and I'd already passed it. Too late.
     All during my drive home, I was recalling horror stories of what became of drivers who skipped getting their ticket. Some say you have to pay the entire length of the Thruway, rumors said it was a criminal act, etc. Whenever a trooper car showed up in my rearview mirror, I foresaw being pulled over and charged with who-knows-what. Could they track cars who'd sneaked on and who didn't have a ticket. I worried all the way.
    I would normally have exited in Albany, but I decided to lessen my penalties by getting off at the Amsterdam exit. I knew it was not as busy as Albany, and figured my situation might not be as traumatic.
   I pulled up to the booth and told the attendant I didn't have my ticket. "Where did you get on?" was his question. I said Herkimer, and he said that would be $2.50. I paid him and that was that.