Hotels

(A special post for SundayScribblings)
I find the topic of Hotels to be most provocative - and as I went about my travels today, I ventured by one of "those" hotels. Are you familiar? Do you want to be?
"Those" hotels are the ones - where an unknowing family on a budget could decide to stay for the night. It's close to the freeway. Perhaps it is not a hotel but a motel. This one, however, is not just for those on their way to Disneyland or Grandma's house. This particular place of hospitality also attracts "business" people. The type that are there for cheap and short term transactions where business casual means skin.
Yes, that is what I was going to write about this week - and delve into the side of lonliness, desperation, cheap thrills.....
I even took the picture - as I drove by.
And then I slapped myself and said - "Nutter, who deemed you the next Pulitzer Prize winner!!!"
Besides, if I followed that story, I would then have to - ahem...uh....well....."do the research" which didn't seem like a particularly savory investment of my time or money.
So, we head right back to my wheelhouse - the funny story!!! I arrived the night before a speaking engagement in a town just outside of San Francisco. I could have made the drive the following morning but I wanted to catch dinner with a friend of mine down near The City.
Upon checking in, there was a nice note from the management -
"For your safety, we will perform water maintenance on our water system Monday, April 17th. The entire water system will be shut down in the hotel from 12 noon until 3 pm. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter."
If you haven't figured it out by now - I am pretty easy going. Not much really gets to me. I don't think this did either. Yet, how could I ponder anything else as I checked in that Monday night but,

"I wonder if it worked!"

Let's go back and visit the note above- was it really necessary to begin the letter with "For your safety"? Perhaps I am a bit naive. When I go to a hotel in a developed country and especially near the city of San Francisco, I am pretty much not thinking that the water is going to be involved as a threat to my well being. Mugged? Sure. Panhandled? Expected. An occassional parasite because you aren't used to the local water supply? That's a given
"Hey, if they didn't need 'for your safety' they wouldn't have said, 'for your safety' now would they" - is the only thing that went through my head.
After being greeted with this letter - I wondered if, with all the hotels in America to pick, had Al-Qaeda picked this particular lodging location to carry out the next part of their plan?
So, here I am - in a strange city confronted by a dangerous challenge to my existence by the wettest villian of them all......the Water.
I stood in the face of that danger - I didn't ask if the testing had gone OK. Bravely, I wetted my toothbrush that night and shined my chompers as if the water had come out of a pristine spring. I showered zestily...rubbing the possible tainted aqua in total disregard that there could be caustic chemicals in them that would seer the epidermis from my body.
I then used the toilet with no.....- well....wait. I guess that, even if the water was contaminated there really wouldn't be any valor in using the head. OK...we'll skip that.
I only know this - when faced with the danger of a water supply that could have ended my days here, I stood up and let the world know that I would not be intimidated!!!

..................all while drinking the bottle of Evian that I had brought along.