The Idiot Tax

My harried morning started with unexpected guests ringing the doorbell as I got out the shower and culminated with buying tokens for the T because I'd left my T-pass and keys at home. Having just missed my train because I was in line to buy tokens, I was feeling pretty frustrated with my morning when I ran into my friend Zeith who was on his way to BIT. Venting my frustrations to Zeith about forgetting my T-pass and having to buy tokens, he commiserated and told me he does the same at the beginning of each month when he forgets to pick up his T-pass from BIT and has to buy a token to get to BIT. He calls this "the idiot tax." Since Zeith's idiot tax is one token to get to BIT where his pass is waiting for him and my idiot tax is two tokens because my pass is sitting at home, I'm in a higher idiot tax bracket. There are worse things in life like the time when I left my T-pass and my wallet at home and I seriously considered borrowing a buck for a token from my homeless friend Hansy who panhandled outside the station. Then there's always cancer which is unequivocally worse than merely forgetting your T-pass.