Lucky me, I’ve been in Florida for the last six weeks. The weather was
perfect until the end when it turned cold. We packed up and came home because
by that time we’d graduated from motels to camping. Believe me, that was
upgrading for this country girl.
Hotels and motels are a strange beast. They’re a soulless territory,
temporary by nature and intent. It took me quite a while to register the effect
of living in impersonal surroundings. To my surprise I discovered, in spite of
the stench of commercial cleansers and the creepy carpets every one of them
insist on installing - it’s difficult for me to resist ranting about those
nests of germs and unidentifiable creatures, but I will - there is a strange
freedom that comes with living, well, nowhere, I suppose.
There are no expectations. Other than finding your toothbrush and
unwrapping the miserly little bar of soap left on the edge of the sink, you
don’t have to clean, cook or think about washing the windows before your
mother-in-law visits. Unfortunately, thanks to the internet, you still have to
pay the bills on time. But no one knows you. Well, my husband knew me and that
was a comfort, but I mean all those other people, they haven’t a clue who you
are. They expect nothing from you.
I can’t remember the last time I haven’t had the crazy chatter of must-dos
in my head. Despite the demands of travel - renting cars, finding a hotel room
for the night, admitting, finally, that yes the lady in the GPS does know the
correct directions to your destination - when you enter that motel room at the
end of the day, nothing else is expected of you. Or not much. It’s almost as if
you’re floating, all those ties that bind are no longer there or are
sufficiently in the background they can be ignored. There’s a freedom in that
until, if you’re like me, and I hope you’re not, you begin to wonder if you’re
leaving bits of yourself behind in each motel room. Maybe picking up vibes from
others who stayed before you. If you kept at it long enough, would you
eventually lose yourself and become someone else?
Wait a minute. What a great idea for a story. Er, I don’t think there
was a point to what I was talking about. Truth is this isn’t what I meant to
write about at all. But as you can see, I’ve stumbled on a great idea and I’ve
got to go.
Bottom line? It’s time to get creative with methods of travel. I’m open
to suggestions!
