Okay, I promised another move-in story, so here goes.
Arriving in South Bend, I wanted to get checked in to a hotel before moving My Favorite Domer into his dorm for Summer Term.
He, of course, insisted he move in first.
Since he only had a small window of time to move in, I acquiesced.
It wasn’t as bad as last year. We probably packed better, the weather cooperated, and we had less stuff.
How much junk does a kid need for Summer Term, anyway?
It’s almost like packing for camp.
So we got him settled, then off we went to find me a room for the night.
That’s when the fun started.
We checked a couple of places — all full.
Finally, in frustration, I asked one of the desk clerks what was going on that had hotel occupancy off the charts.
He sheepishly admitted they’d had a wicked storm the night before, and most of the hotel guests were actually residents who didn’t want to be inconvenienced because their power was out but knew the hotels had generators.
Huh??
You could have knocked me over with a feather!
After all, I lived on the Gulf Coast for several years, and every season (or so it seemed!), we had a hurricane blow through and knock out power for a week at a time!
In 90+ degree weather, day AND night!
No hot food. No hair dryer. No air conditioner. Not even a stinkin’ fan!
But we suffered through it. Brave little warriors, wearing our sweat-drenched T-shirts and sharing our tales of woe with anybody who’d listen.
Yet here these “weenies” were, spending a couple of hundred bucks to stay overnight in a hotel — with FREE TV, air conditioning, and a pool!
Topping it off, the next morning I noticed the temperature had dropped to a cool 62 degrees.
I’m tellin’ ya, some people have more money than sense!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
So where did you stay after all?
Believe it or not, I had to stay clear over in the next town! However, I did find a name-brand hotel at a fairly reasonable rate — guess they hadn’t figured out they could really gouge people under those circumstances!
I was wondering where you ended up too so I’m glad there was a happy ending.I love your little vignettes Debbie- so entertaining. Your story reminded me of my sister-in-law,Carol. She is a very independent, smart woman and I have found out,very creative as well. To my surprise, she had shared with us all that she was not the least bit technically-oriented, nor did she care to be- I mean right down to not liking to pump her own gas, not using computers and not even knowing how to set a digital alarm clock. One night when my brother was out of town and she had to get up early for a meeting, rather than try to figure out how to set her alarm clock, she called the local Radisson Hotel(small town) and requested a wake-up call from them ..to her home..and they complied. Amazing. She got what she needed. Who would have even given that a thought?? Anyway, thanks for your dose of humor that triggered this funny memory!
Now that is something I hope you use in your stories! And if you don’t intend to, I would like permission! Unbelievable!
How funny — but how creative! I’d have never thought of that; in fact, I’d probably have called somebody at home and asked THEM to make my wake-up call the next morning! I’ve often wondered how people make it in this techno world if they refuse to go along for the ride — this shows us they can. Thanks for sharing.
Yes Debbie and Lynne, it appears that there is life beyond out techno-world! Go for it ,Lynne, truth is stranger than fiction and I ‘m sure you could weave this into your story to spice it up a bit!