March 2009
Scene 1 - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Rental Car Agency, Texas, US
Agent: Would you like to purchase a Prepaid Toll Tag?
Polar Panda: What is it for?
Agent: You do not have to stop to pay the toll on highway, and the toll plaza sensor will scan your toll tag. It saves your time.
Polar Panda: No, thanks. I am on vacation, and I have lots of time and will stop and pay.
Scene 2 - First day in Dallas, approaching the first Toll Plaza with dozen booths from Plano to Glen Rose
Jason (Polar Panda’s 11-year-old son): Mom, toll!
Polar Panda: Oh, which one should I go through?
(Some booths are marked with big orange T, some with an orange sign and some with a white sign. Polar Panda is slowing down from seventy MPH.)
Jason: Try the one with a white sign…..Oh-oh, mom, mom, sorry COINS ONLY…
(Realizing that she has no American coins, Polar Panda drove through another booth abruptly…)
Jason: Mom! You just exited from the highway!!
Scene 3 – Five minutes later,entering the next Toll Plaza
Polar Panda: Jason, what do I do?
Jason: (Full of confidence, he realized he is the sole man in the car) Try one with the orange sign, because the ones with the Big T must be for the Toll Tag that you did not purchase at the rental car place. Mom, you need to be on the right lanes, the two left lanes are for the Toll Tag!
Toll Plaza Lady One: (Smiling) Good morning!
Polar Panda: (Searching her purse, she found $50 US bills ONLY! The sign by the booth writes that only $20 or smaller bills can be accepted.) Hi, I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins and I have no paper bills that are under $50…(Her face is turning hot and red.)
Lady one: You do not have any coins? One dollar? 5 dollars? 10 dollars? 20 dollars?
Polar Panda: (Shaking her head 5 times) I have a Five Canadian-Dollar bill and a Loonie…
Lady one: What is a Loonie? Can I see your driver’s license, please? Hmm…Alberta…where is it...
Polar Panda: Yeah, we have no toll in our country, so you know, and I just got off the plane yesterday…
Lady one (suspiciously and gracefully): OK, you are good to go.
Scene 4 – Fifteen minutes later, approaching the second toll plaza
Polar Panda (well prepared and calm): Hi, I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins and I have no paper bills that are under $50…
Lady Two: Oh……, OK, you are good to go.
Scene 5 – Fifteen minutes later, approaching the third toll plaza
Polar Panda: Hi, I am so embarrassed to have to explain this for the third time: I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins, no $1 bills, no $5 bills, and no $10 bills and I have no paper bills that are under $50...(feels like a tong twister)
Lady three: Oh, OK, you are good to go.
Polar Panda: By the way, I made a couple of mistakes by driving through the big T without paying, what would that do to me?
Lady three: There is a video recorder on top of the plaza and you were taped…a bill will be sent to you….but call this number and you may explain that you know nothing about toll (handing me a card with an 1-800 number).
Scene 6 – Day Two, approaching the first toll plaza
Jason: Mom, I saved nine quarters for you for the toll! Now you do not have to talk to people! Yehe!
Polar Panda: (driving) Oh, I am so nervous!
Jason: Mom!! Why are you so nervous to throw four quarters into the basket?!
Polar Panda: Well, I am not good at throwing with my left hand…(driving at seventy MPH)
Polar Panda throws in four quarters into the basket and one misses it!! In panic, she opens the car door and tries to find the lost coin, the car door slams into the post and she can not find the lost quarter.
Jason: Mom, come-on! There is long line up behind ya! Here is another quarter…
Polar Panda: (Throwing it in the basket with great success, but the red light did not turn into green. Maybe the software defines this as a time out. Fearing the video recorder, she dares not drive through) Can you just give me four more quarters, Jason?
Jason: Here you are. (Red light turns into Green) Mom, you just used 8 quarters instead of four! And you lost one! What if I have no extra coins? We would be stuck here forever...
Scene 7 – One month later – home in Canada
Polar Panda: Hi, I am just wondering why my credit card is changed with $35 with toll charge?
Budget Car Rental at Dallas Airport: You are lucky that we did not charge you $250 US for passing the toll with no toll tags and payment.
Scene 1 - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Rental Car Agency, Texas, US
Agent: Would you like to purchase a Prepaid Toll Tag?
Polar Panda: What is it for?
Agent: You do not have to stop to pay the toll on highway, and the toll plaza sensor will scan your toll tag. It saves your time.
Polar Panda: No, thanks. I am on vacation, and I have lots of time and will stop and pay.
Scene 2 - First day in Dallas, approaching the first Toll Plaza with dozen booths from Plano to Glen Rose
Jason (Polar Panda’s 11-year-old son): Mom, toll!
Polar Panda: Oh, which one should I go through?
(Some booths are marked with big orange T, some with an orange sign and some with a white sign. Polar Panda is slowing down from seventy MPH.)
Jason: Try the one with a white sign…..Oh-oh, mom, mom, sorry COINS ONLY…
(Realizing that she has no American coins, Polar Panda drove through another booth abruptly…)
Jason: Mom! You just exited from the highway!!
Scene 3 – Five minutes later,entering the next Toll Plaza
Polar Panda: Jason, what do I do?
Jason: (Full of confidence, he realized he is the sole man in the car) Try one with the orange sign, because the ones with the Big T must be for the Toll Tag that you did not purchase at the rental car place. Mom, you need to be on the right lanes, the two left lanes are for the Toll Tag!
Toll Plaza Lady One: (Smiling) Good morning!
Polar Panda: (Searching her purse, she found $50 US bills ONLY! The sign by the booth writes that only $20 or smaller bills can be accepted.) Hi, I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins and I have no paper bills that are under $50…(Her face is turning hot and red.)
Lady one: You do not have any coins? One dollar? 5 dollars? 10 dollars? 20 dollars?
Polar Panda: (Shaking her head 5 times) I have a Five Canadian-Dollar bill and a Loonie…
Lady one: What is a Loonie? Can I see your driver’s license, please? Hmm…Alberta…where is it...
Polar Panda: Yeah, we have no toll in our country, so you know, and I just got off the plane yesterday…
Lady one (suspiciously and gracefully): OK, you are good to go.
Scene 4 – Fifteen minutes later, approaching the second toll plaza
Polar Panda (well prepared and calm): Hi, I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins and I have no paper bills that are under $50…
Lady Two: Oh……, OK, you are good to go.
Scene 5 – Fifteen minutes later, approaching the third toll plaza
Polar Panda: Hi, I am so embarrassed to have to explain this for the third time: I am from Canada and this is my first day in Dallas. I have no coins, no $1 bills, no $5 bills, and no $10 bills and I have no paper bills that are under $50...(feels like a tong twister)
Lady three: Oh, OK, you are good to go.
Polar Panda: By the way, I made a couple of mistakes by driving through the big T without paying, what would that do to me?
Lady three: There is a video recorder on top of the plaza and you were taped…a bill will be sent to you….but call this number and you may explain that you know nothing about toll (handing me a card with an 1-800 number).
Scene 6 – Day Two, approaching the first toll plaza
Jason: Mom, I saved nine quarters for you for the toll! Now you do not have to talk to people! Yehe!
Polar Panda: (driving) Oh, I am so nervous!
Jason: Mom!! Why are you so nervous to throw four quarters into the basket?!
Polar Panda: Well, I am not good at throwing with my left hand…(driving at seventy MPH)
Polar Panda throws in four quarters into the basket and one misses it!! In panic, she opens the car door and tries to find the lost coin, the car door slams into the post and she can not find the lost quarter.
Jason: Mom, come-on! There is long line up behind ya! Here is another quarter…
Polar Panda: (Throwing it in the basket with great success, but the red light did not turn into green. Maybe the software defines this as a time out. Fearing the video recorder, she dares not drive through) Can you just give me four more quarters, Jason?
Jason: Here you are. (Red light turns into Green) Mom, you just used 8 quarters instead of four! And you lost one! What if I have no extra coins? We would be stuck here forever...
Scene 7 – One month later – home in Canada
Polar Panda: Hi, I am just wondering why my credit card is changed with $35 with toll charge?
Budget Car Rental at Dallas Airport: You are lucky that we did not charge you $250 US for passing the toll with no toll tags and payment.
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