My Old Kentucky Temporary Home

As Willie Nelson once sang, I'm "On the Road Again!" Yep, here I sit in my Louisville, Kentucky hotel room. It's bitter cold outside so I won't be going anywhere this evening -- not that I have anywhere to go anyway. I was rummaging through my daily round of blogs when I realized that I haven't written anything in almost a week. I guess all that pissed-offedness about this steroid stuff just left me speechless. Alas, speechlessness won't last long ... with me, it never does.

The flight down here was pretty uneventful (that's a good thing), and I had the rare flight attendant who must be an aspiring comedienne. Usually you get the regular ole flying waitress who says the scripted stuff then never says another word until they ask what you want to drink. The comedians are not quite as common, but once in a while you find one who makes a valiant effort to ad lib the script and hopefully make everyone on the plane laugh. I have to admire the attempt to make a joke out of "If the cabin pressure drops, an oxygen mask will be released from the overhead compartment .... blah blah blah." I don't know how they do it, but it usually works. Amazing since there's so very little that's laughable about sitting on a plane, strapped into a seat, waiting to take off, while listening to someone tell you what to do in the event of a crash. Comic relief is pretty powerful and most people laugh -- even me. Hell, anything could probably make me laugh at that point, maybe even Robin Williams. Nah, I take that back .. probably not .... not unless he was dressed like Mork. Anyway, at first I was a little annoyed by the joke telling while I was trying to read my book, but then I just stopped and listened. Even though she wasn't too funny, I had to give her some props for trying to make things better for us. The least I could do was indulge her effort by listening for a few minutes ... and so I did.

It's ashame there aren't more people working in service industries who act like they enjoy their job and their customers. Yeah, they're out there but they are clearly in the minority. Most are not necessarily rude, but they act robotic and completely indifferent to customer satisfaction. It's an attitude of, "I don't care whether I knock your socks off or not, as long as I get paid." Wow, nice attitude.

Tonight when I was walking into hotel, the bellman greeted me as he opened the door: "Hello Miz L., welcome back. Have a good night." Ahhhhh .... simple, yet nice. Had he said something like "I hate this job in the winter ... cold weather sucks", I probably would have been thinking "Stop bitching and open the door for me."

Then I ordered room service. The same guy has been delivering the room service dinners since I started coming here almost 8 years ago. Maybe he doesn't remember that I've been coming here that long .... maybe he doesn't remember seeing me for any of the 9 nights I've stayed in this hotel out of the last 30 days .... maybe he doesn't remember bringing me dinner in this same room last night. There is not one single glimmer of recognition on this man's face. You know, if I were him I'd be embarrassed. Tonight and from now on he only gets the gratuity the hotel adds to the check -- if he can't remember me, I can't remember to tip extra. In fact, I'll save it for the bellman! So there!!!

As I continue to sit here in my Louisville, Kentucky hotel room I'm reminded of yet another song -- this time, a little diddy from Meatloaf: "Two Outta Three Ain't Bad."

On that note (haha), I think I've come full circle -- I began with a song and am ending with a song. Hope this finds you warm and well. Am very much looking forward to coming home later this week!