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A Grievance in Gallup
Cross country road trip. New Mexico.
On a road-trip from Dallas to Los Angeles I stopped for the night (after a 13 hour drive) in Gallup, New Mexico.
The *&$# *&! certainly didn’t look like the nicest motel on the street; actually, it looked pretty run down, but I was exhausted from the drive and just needed a bed to lay my weary head. And besides, the sign said $39.00 for a single — my kind of price.
I parked, then went into the lobby to get a room. The lady behind the counter seemed nice enough, but informed me the room was no longer $39.00, but now $49.00 for a single (they forgot to change the sign). How convenient. But I was too tired to argue about “bait & switch” false advertising, so I took the room.
I lugged my suitcases and cooler up to the second floor, opened the door, and ick! The room was not the best I’d ever stayed in (not even in the top 50); the walls looked dirty, the carpet looked like it had never been steam-cleaned, and the air smelled moldy. Okay, moldy is not quite accurate. Let’s just say the air smelled “musty.” No, worse than that — it actually smelled like the previous occupants hadn’t washed their crevices in quite some time. Gross. But I was too worn out to care. Besides, what’d I expect for $39.00? Uh, I mean… $49.00 (plus tax).
