An Epiphany in My Booth

The view of Tobin Bridge from afar.

Lately, I've been working at the Tobin Bridge. If you've ever driven on it, you know it's a very high bridge that has a great view of Boston. High places also mean another thing...jumpers. Every month, there are at least three jumpers at this bridge. These attempted suicides, some of them successful, don't make it to the news because they don't want to encourage copycats.

More than one coworker have told me, "When somebody pulls over and gets out of the car to get their money in the trunk, I get worried that they're going to jump." As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, there was a 26-year-old woman who jumped and killed herself. My coworker told me, "It's an image burned into your memory. You just replay it over and over again in your head."

Since I'm there sparingly, I've been fortunate enough not to witness such a horrific sight. Just yesterday, though, a few patrons reported to me that there was a man walking on the bridge towards the booths. I reported it to the senior and he immediately called the state police. After about ten minutes, two state police vehicles sped through the fast lane with their sirens on.

At first, I thought they were trying to get off the bridge because the man had jumped. But then the senior updated us and informed us that the state troopers arrested the man because he was intoxicated and carried a gun. I was a little shocked, especially with the shooting massacre that happened recently in Colorado, but was glad the situation was handled quickly.

I never thought I'd have a life-awakening epiphany at the tolls, but I realized that life is short and oftentimes taken for granted. In the words of Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." (Hint: go with the latter!)

The view from my booth. Too bad they're doing construction!