The Friendly Toll Booth Guy

So we get lost on a toll road somewhere travelling in the U.S. What happened, you ask? Well, I didn't mean to get on the toll road. I really shouldn't have passed that point of no return (you know, where it says no U-Turn, but people do it anyways), and apparently, I NEVER should have passed through without taking a ticket. Oh well, there must be a way out...When we get to the first exit (which was about 15 miles away), we approach the lovely guy in the toll booth. I roll down my window and prepare to do my best "damsel in distress" impression.

"How are you doing Ma'am?", he says, (good, he seems friendly, he'll understand and let us through to go back with no problem)

"Well, not so good", I say, "we're lost and never meant to get on this road. Also we DID NOT TAKE A TICKET."

The guy's mood does a complete 180:

"Ma'am, yes I would agree, you have a VERY SERIOUS problem on your hands. If you had read the ticket, it says right there on the back" (pulls a ticket out and proceeds to read to me what is written on the back of it, while pointing at it and talking down to me):

"Should a driver misplace or fail to present a ticket at the exit, said driver shall pay the maximum trip amount up to that exit point."

Okay, so I don't bother to point out to the moron that I certainly could not have read the small print on the back of the TICKET (see above)...hence the dilemma in the first place...what geniuses are working in these toll booths? But I say nothing, because we need directions from this guy. There's no need to berate him the way he did us. We pay the maximum fee amount and he proceeds to tell us how to get back...in a very "Father talking to 3-year old child" manner. Ughh.

What an abuse of power. Clearly, these toll booth people take their job way too seriously. Buddy, your job is to collect tolls for a roadway. Not "Undercover Operative for the FBI."... Relax.