When Is A Cheap Motel Not A Cheap Motel?

Answer, when the service is awesome!

When I got to the motel, there were 3 people behind the counter.  Not one, not two but all three said, hi.  Not at once, mind you, but each looked up in turn.  Then while one clerk figured out my room, another told me that she loved my sunglasses.  We talked about sunglasses and the pain-in-the-ass of contacts, while they tried to find my reservation.

You know what?  It’s official.  I have the BEST sunglasses ever!

Unfortunately, however, my room was not ready.

So what did they do?  They asked if I wanted to wait or come back and when I said wait, they brought me bottled water, got me hooked up on their internet and, after I had put on my other glasses, the lovely clerk said that I looked great in those glasses as well.  I think I blushed.

Oh how I love flattery. I care not if it is true.  Flatter away.

While someone cleaned my room, I researched the hell out of the C-46 and checked on an airfield I wanted to visit and looked up where the aircraft graveyards were and somehow managed to load up a page of porn (which I was totally NOT trying to load up in the middle of the motel lobby!  I swear!)

Funny thing, though, when I asked the nice ladies at the front desk if they had a map, they said no and looked at me like I’d asked them to see an airplane schedule or something.  When I asked if there as a tourist info, they all said, no, they didn’t think so but it was with a tone that said, good lord, a tourist center here?  Why?  Who comes here for tourism?

Hey, even Duncan has a tourist center!

But this is another one of those towns that seems to be on the way to somewhere else.

When I got into my room, I found out that I couldn’t see the c-46.  L  I then phoned the police.  NO, not about that , though that IS a crime, but to see if I could set up an appointment to talk to them.  Now, if I was a better man, I would have done this earlier but whatever, I did it now.

Told them I was researching a novel and was there someone I could talk to about police operations in Lancaster.  Got put through, I think, to community relations.  No one there.  Had to leave a message.  I was very cool and collected.

However, my real message was taped.  Here it is…

“Errr.  Ah.  Hi.  I’m, ah, calling about, you know, phoning about learning me some more about the police operations in Lancaster, cause I’m sort of writing a story and I need like some research information so if you could call me back, at, oh, wait, hold on, let me get my cell, yeah, hmmm, 555-555-5555, which is my cell or you can call me at the hotel, I mean, motel, the Oxford Inn, at 555-555-5554, which is where I’m staying, you know, so I can do my research… for my novel… did I tell you that already?  Well, I hope to hear from you.  Thanks.  Sean Sommerville here.”

Honestly, I don’t think I need any more of a dose of reality at this point so if they don’t phone back, I’ll be fine with that.

Pretty tired from the drive and all the new information (and doing all that research) so it was, yes boys and girls, nap time.