Person- to- Person

I usually go through tolls via the EZ Pass lane; it's faster, convenient and gets me where I want to go that much sooner.

Yesterday I was using a "loaner" car from the mechanic, so I had to go through the cash lanes. "What a pain!" I thought. I sat waiting in the line of cars and prepared the cash to get through as quickly as possible.

To my surprise, however, I found that being greeted by the toll-taker and responding in kind actually gave me a lift! I enjoyed these brief interpersonal encounters! By the second stop (the Garden State Parkway has numerous tolls) I actually looked forward to seeing the next toll-taker. Each person was so different in appearance and demeanor - conveying his or her unique personality - that the stop at each toll added variety to my journey.

Maybe I should put away my EZ Pass.