Dear Mr. Super 8

Dear Mr. Super 8:

My name is James Harry Pierce and I am walking across America.  I left Tacoma in late May and have just now arrived at the Super 8 in Wenatchee, Washington.  I will pass through no less than a dozen states and am making friends everywhere I go.

And in addition to the wonderful people I meet on the road, there are more following my adventures on line.  You see, I am "blogging" about the things I see and the people I meet.  It is flattering that they have shown such interest.  And I don't take it lightly; I am at great pains to keep my blog entertaining and up to date.  I am delighted to note that even now, less than two weeks in, there are already close to one hundred people following right along.  I hope that number increases and I will make every effort to see that it does. 

In fact, let me take this opportunity to ask my new friends--they are reading this, too--to post links to my blog anywhere on the Internet they think one will stick.  Thanks guys.  It would mean the world to me.

Anyway, every successful blog needs some sort of unifying theme. I am not yet sure what mine is.  I had hoped to make it about the positive experiences I have staying at Super 8 motels.

But we don't always get what we want, do we?  For example, I, after ten days in a tent, barely washing and stinking like a chimp, I was very much looking forward to reaching Wenatchee and staying in a Super 8 motel. Reasonable as your rates are, on this year long adventure, this is a special luxury for me.  I looked forward to your clean, comfortable room, your complimentary coffee, your courteous staff, your cooling pool and your soothing spa.  And perhaps most of all, I was looking forward to doing my laundry.  You might say it was the one thought that carried me up and over the High Cascades, though I faced dangers on all sides.

But your washing machines were broken, weren't they?  Both of them.  The polite, efficient young man at the counter refunded my quarters and drew me a very nice map to a laundromat two miles away, but that isn't the same, is it?  If you think I object to a four mile walk in the hot Eastern Washington sun, you are missing the point.  I love a nice stroll, but today is my day off.  Even our Lord took a holiday, and He never had my blisters.

I wound up washing my clothes in the bathtub, an hour better spent by the pool.  Don't get me wrong; I got the job done, but not as easily or as well as I could have using one of those automatic machines you brag about in your brochures.  

I see you are expanding into China, God bless you.  It warms my heart to see American business thrive.  But I'd think twice before asking your good Chinese guests to wash their clothes in a tub.  It smacks, frankly, of racism.

Now I don't know what we can do to make this right.  It is all too fresh in my mind now.  I'll let you stew on it for a day or two before I turn to my new friends for answers.  I believe at the least some small refund is called for, but do not let us stop there.  Use your imagination.  It is free-wheeling, quick-thinking, fast-on-your-feet action that makes American business great.

Congratulations on all your success, God bless you, and God bless America.

Yours respectfully,
James Harry Pierce
jamesacrossamerica.blogspot.com

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