Interlude

Before I say another word, let me just clarify something from my last post.

I love Motel 6.

Love ‘em.

And I would hate to have left you with the impression that the Southeastern Motel 6’s are somehow poorly maintained or otherwise undesirable. They are not- only inasmuch as everything in that part of the country is kind of downtrodden and moldy. It’s just the nature of the beast. Desert vs. Swamp.

So let’s lay that to rest. Motel 6- my number one choice.

In fact, I’m in one right now- Farmington, New Mexico. (Room 238 for the historians) I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find a room tonight, it being the 4th of July.

Hotels in Durango were starting at $150 a night, and those hotels weren’t even in Durango. Also, for reasons passing understanding, there are no Motel 6’s in Durango. Farmington is the closest. And what I realized tonight was that during festive seasons and holidays when it’s hard to find hotels in nice, resorty-type places, I can instead go to the places that all the people who are in the nicer, resorty-type places came from. In this case, that would be Farmington, NM. Plenty of rooms- $35 plus tax. Beat that.

Let me also say something about character here. I tend to think of myself as a pragmatic person. That is to say, the packaging is nice, but what’s really in the thing? In the Ned Rorem model of everybody being either “French” or “German,” I generally fall pretty squarely (and squarely) into the German category. The frill and froo-froo I am generally willing to do without, provided the thing itself, Der Ding, is of high general quality.

So that’s why I love Motel 6. Always clean, always the best price, and never too much detergent in the room so I wake up with rashes from the bleach in the sheets and a headache from breathing in Industrial “Glade” all night. Reliable, inoffensive décor, and very, very consistent.

Yup. Love Motel 6.