Sunday, September 7, 2008

sometimes i forget the details

When our children were younger, we were taking them to visit some relatives. Mitch, my husband, and I had worked long hours that day. About halfway along our way, we stopped in a motel on the freeway in Corsicana, Texas. We were dog tired and figured it didn't matter where we stayed since it was just one night. We had to rethink that idea after our stay at this inexpensive motel.
Mitch tried to lock the door which lead directly to the parking lot. The lock was broken. He placed a chair under the doorknob hoping that at least this would deter someone from coming into the room (if not make it harder). And, if someone tried to come in, then we would maybe hear them first.
Around midnight, there was a knock on the door and Mitch answered the door wearing only his briefs. It was a little Indian man. He wanted to ask Mitch about the credit card he had used for the room. Mitch explained to the man that he had paid in cash. The man wanted the information from Mitch's credit card for "security". Mitch asked the man who he was, and he was convinced that he was the owner of the motel. He was tired, so he gave the man the information.
He came back to bed, and I asked him if he realized he was talking to a man only in his briefs, and that the door was open and there was a freeway just yards away. He laughed and said the guy didn't seem to mind. All he wanted was the credit information. Then, he woke up a little more and said that he hoped it was actually the owner and not just someone off the freeway that he had given his credit card information to.
I had problems sleeping with our 2 young children in the room and the room being somewhat insecure. But, as luck would have it, we were on our way the next day. No one used our credit card. We still laugh about that motel room in Corsicana. And all bad motel or hotel rooms are compared to that one; but, so far, there hasn't been a worse one.*

*When my husband Mitch read the story, he said I left some stuff out. He said, "Don't you remember I had LOADED 357 Magnum (handgun) in my hand when I answered the door, because it was the middle of the night and we weren't sure WHO was at the door? My son said he even remembered the gun, because it scared him. Mitch also said, "And remember that only station on the TV was a porn station that you had to PAY for?" I guess it was worse than I remembered! I told him HE should have written the story, because sometimes I forget the details.

-Sandra Fielder (with some help from her husband Mitch) of Oro Valley, AZ

2 comments:

My Year Without said...

what a precious story! i was picturing exactly what that would have been like. the chair under the doorknob is a crack-up! on my honeymoon in belize, my husband and i actually heeved and hoed the heavy couch in front of our door!
also, i love that we all remember different details from our stories. what a beautiful patchwork of memories!

amy said...

I know -- these are so fun to read. Wait till they're all up! There are actually several doors-under-knobs. So funny.