Easter Adventures

My cousin Doug and his wife Jackie live on a 10-acre "ranch" and for years they threw an Easter Egg Hunt and barbecue with potluck dishes while Doug nd his brother Bob did the barbecuing.  I fell in love with the guy whose potluck dish was about a vat of pulled pork.  Doug and Bob were letting the smoke kind of drift past the Steamship cut of beef, a pig and a whole goat. They were not "welldone." Bob, the morning after, mused to the rest of us around the breakfast table,  "We got a lot of goat left; didn' invite enuf Messicans ..." Bob was the family's Designated Vulgarian.

As we all aged, they eased out of doing it in their mid-70s.   Sadly Doug died last June, aged 81,  and  Jackie decided to do it as a celebration of his life this year.

Cousins arrived in good numbers - I think there were 45 to 50 people as opposed to Olden Days when the record then was 103.  Of course, a lot of those were babies, toddlers and so on.  Today they are adults and I didn't recognize anyone under the age of 30.  I was at a distinct disadvantage.  Perfectly strange people were throwing themselves on me, hugging me like a boa constrictor and screaming, "I ASKED if you were coming!  OH, it's so GOOD to see you!" (smack, smack)  This is quite a bit more effusive than I am used to, particularly the part about "so glad to see you!"

I hope to have pictures tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we spent the night at the Days Inn, Hemet.  It was less than satisfactory.  Richie seized his vitriol pen to address matters as he saw them.  When he finishes it, I will print it here.

Dear Sirs:

On the night of March 31, a Saturday night, we had a reservation at your Hemet motel.  From the outside the motel looked great.  When we entered Room 126, it did not look so great.

As I looked around, I spotted black stuff on the ceiling.  Mold?  The room was also in need of a coat of paint.

As we had had a long day, we said what the heck.  We were in need of sleep.  So I went to get a drink of water - no glasses.  Next I looked around the toilet.  The seat was loose.  The toilet paper holder was not in use; instead the roll was stacked vertically - on top of the spindle.   The plaster was chipped around it.

The shower was next.  It was roomie but around the bottom was brown crud.  More mold?

To wash hands and faces and bathe, two small discs of soap.  And they were for two people?  C'mon.

Next I noticed the phone connection hanging out of the wall.   I sat down in the chair next to the phone, the chair arm was broken.

As I said, we were tired.  So we sucked it up and went to bed.  An uneventful sleep at best.  I gave up at 4:30 a.m.  The plug-in coffee machine was okay, but there were no cups.  I went to the front desk and had to wake up the clerk (sleeping on a sofa in the lobby) to get cups.

I had a headache and sinus pain - Breathing in mold?

I know your name is Days Inn, not Comfort Inn.
Sincerely, Richie Murpy

P.S.  Close the room, make the repairs and disinfect and paint the room.