Some Good, Some Not so Much

We had a charming couple from Canada with us for almost 2 weeks.  They are the kind of people one hopes for in a people-oriented business.  The guy even repaired my car.  I lost my tail light on my last road trip.  I bought the new part in Dec and had been waiting for the DH to install it. I probably wouldn't have lived long enough waiting for him.  Here it is March & my nice quest fixed it for me.  Can't wait til they come back next year.  I'll make a list of needed repairs.

On the other hand...I had just finished rehabbing unit #3 & made it non-smoking.  The DH checked in two off the street people who paid cash, but he didn't get a cc# because he tells me he trusted them.  What does he care?  He doesn't have to do any of the work.  They smoked up a storm.  Left cigarette butts strewn all over the floor.  I have to close the room for 3 days to repaint, strip and shampoo. 

This morning when I went out to clean, I found more than a dozen dead fish thrown in the parking lot in front of unit #5.  Now I know it wasn't the guy in 5.  He's here working for the gas company and is a totally anal non-fisherman.  Anyway,  I picked up all the dead fish and dumped a bucket of Lysol in front of the room to dispel the stink.

Just 20 minutes ago, 3 workers checked into my bunk room. One of them came to the office a couple of minutes ago to request another pillow.  He was annoyed that I had to go out to the laundry to get his pillow and before he stalked back to his room asked me to give him a lime.  "I'm sorry, I don't have any limes," I said.  "What kind of hotel ees theese!" he shouted at me.

I think I'm going to take a blog break. I'm getting negative and my muse seems to have abandoned me.

Short & Sweet

This report I mean, certainly not the project.

I laid this floor.

I also built the dining table and chairs.  I  know I could be breaking my arm patting myself on the back, but hey, it was a lot of hard work.  The middle photo shows the old decor.  Actually, the Nascar theme turned off a few women.  And forget the yankees (they're people who live above the Mason-Dixon line in case you're not sure), they don't even know what Nascar is.  So we stuck with the beachy theme.  It's what folks want when they come to Port St Joe.

We bagged the futon to make room for a more comfortable dining area.  In lieu of the futon, I put a rollaway in the closet so the room still sleeps 4.  Nooooo...the 4th person does not have to sleep in the closet.

Look What The Tide Washed In

I got a call this morning from the DH while he was out roaming around town.  He said:  "There's a huge three masted tall ship docking at the marina downtown."  "Git out!" says I, "Come right back so I can go see it."  Yeah right.  I waited 15 minutes then locked up the lobby, forwarded the business phone to my cell and grabbed my lovely assistant, Shegundala.  We sped to the marina, staying within the speed limit the entire time of course.  (I got stopped for speeding a couple of weeks ago by some local yokel cop with a bug up his ass, but that's another story.)

We're only two miles from the marina, so as soon as we turned right out of our drive we spotted the masts.  That's a sight I never would have expected in little ole Port St Joe.

Isn't she impressive?  I can't wait to go on a free tour.  She's going to be in port here until March 20 and tours are free although donations are welcome.

I can't figure out why.  Why is she here?  I guess I won't know until I take the tour.  Her name is the Peacemaker.  Didn't John Wayne have a gun by that name?  I didn't see any cannon though so I guess the marina isn't in imminent danger.

She's a barquentine rigged as a 3 master.  Overall length is 150' and her height above the waterline 126'.  Tours are from 10 AM til 7.  Tea and cookies with the captain will be served from 7:30 til 10PM. Tea & cookies????  What?  no rum?  no grog?  I think the captain is going to be a little lonely with his tea & cookies.  But that's just me.

Idle Hands

In the past 3 days I.......

Built this chair

 built this desk

built this bookcase

built this tv stand

Tomorrow, I tackle a dining table and four chairs and put the last tile in the vinyl floor I laid.

I've got two projects going at once.  My lovely assistant Shegundala and I are renovating kitchen unit # 3 and I'm redoing my personal office space.

Which project do you think was the easiest?  the hardest? the most frustrating?  Well,

the chair went together pretty quickly.  The little computer desk was a total bitch and I did the TV stand outside on a windy day with the screws and instructions blowing all over the parking lot.

It's a good thing that I'm a person who likes instant gratification because the finished products make me smile with a sense of accomplishment.  Not to mention that my tush is smiling in it's new comfy office chair.

Tourism Expo



My lovely assistant Shegundala and I attended the first Gulf County Tourism Show today.  I'm pretty sure we were the only people in the room who didn't win a door prize, but hey, lunch was free and from one of the best restaurants in town, Provisions.  The selection of salads, sandwiches, cookies and assortment of fat free pound cakes was what I've come to expect from Provisions.  Exceptional.  The pound cake which was presented in a half dozen different flavors was incredibly moist and rich.  I spoke with the creator of these treats and she told me she makes them with fat free yogurt.  Forget about getting the recipe, it's probably locked in a vault.

But, I digress.  The real purpose of the event was to promote to the business owners and front line employees all of the diverse activities available in the immediate area and how to communicate our diversity to current and potential visitors.  Informational booths included fishing charters, beach weddings, kayaking, scuba diving tours and instruction, the Cape San Blas lighthouse, boutique shops, beach horseback riding, tackle shops, tupalo honey, art studios, boat rentals, eco tours and more. 

We were given a card and if we had our card initialed by every participating vendor we visited we'd be eligible for a grand prize.  We didn't win that either.  It was a great idea because obviously it motivated all attendees to visit with all vendors.

I was ho humming about a planned customer service workshop since in my lifetime I have been to about sixty million of them.  But...Gulf County Community College presented an informative and entertaining program reminding even the most seasoned of us of the 10 Commandments of customer service.  Shegundala laughed her ass off since I have violated all of them & will probably burn in hell for it or surely lose business because of it.   It was a bit of a wake up call for me. Since I'm pretty much a one woman show and put in 14 hours a day ( boo hoo) I tend to get testy and forget that people are spending their hard earned money to stay here at the Dixie Belle and providing clean rooms is not enough.  They want my best personal effort and they deserve it.  So I'm going on record as saying that I'm turning over a new leaf. 

The smart ass in me is going to sum that up by saying that instead of just handing my guests the plunger,  I'll offer to personally plunge.  You get the idea.  I want to thank the Gulf County Tourist Development Council for a terrific day.

What IS that?

The Dixie Belle has been jammin' during the last few weeks.  There are a couple of major construction projects going on & we're the only local motel offering weekly rates so the word has gotten out to the construction workers & I've had the no vacancy sign out  pretty much Monday through Thursday.

With this unexpected boon comes unexpected problems.  Check out the photo.

These used to be two of my soft white fluffy bath towels.  I top locked these guys so they couldn't get in their room until they brought their supervisor to my office.  He paid for the replacements and took care of speaking to the inconsiderate, disrespectful, ignorant filthy pigs. Oh excuse me... guests.

Unfortunately, I still take it personally when people disrespect me and my property.  I used to get very angry, but that just raises my blood pressure, so I get even.  I hit them where it hurts.  Either in the pocket or with the boss. 

Not all of them fit the above description and I understand that some of the job sites are muddy and dirt's going to get tracked inside.  I can deal with that & some of the guys are going out of their way to keep their rooms as clean as they can.  I have one guy who's been here for over a month & has observed some of the bad behavior of others.  He has watched me outside at night with my whip and chair trying to tame the beasts.  "Michele," he said last night, "I have your back.  If you need any help with these guys I'll be there for you."  Isn't that sweet? 

I have my doubts though.  Greg's  a lover not a fighter.  Every week there's a different car parked at his room and he tells me he met a nice lady.  Today he said he's getting homesick for his dogs and cats. 

Scary,But Lucky

The DH & I have been experiencing headaches, lethargy and occasional nausea lately.  He went back to bed at 11 AM yesterday complaining of a "hollow head" headache.  Later in the day, I went to the bedroom to read and also developed a headache I would describe as  "hollow head." 

It came to me in a flash, because my friend The Ho had dear friends who lived in a trailer and suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.  One of them died.  I ran to my computer and looked up symptoms.  Bingo.  I immediately suspected the gas heater, so turned it off & we called the gas company first thing this morning. 

They showed up promptly & declared the heater safe and efficient, but the ancient gas range in the kitchen was emitting dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.  In a small space like this, the amount of deadly gas could have killed us.  Carbon monoxide is colorless & odorless. 

The gas company techs found that my range was set for way too high a flame and was consequently  blocking the air intake. Thus the danger.  They adjusted the settings, but recommended that if I was going to keep the old range that I should either open a window or turn on an exhaust fan every time I use it.

I'm encouraging those of you with gas appliances to get a carbon monoxide detector or to have your gas company check those appliances yearly.  What a needless death that would have been.  I'm not ready to go yet.

A Little Excitement

About an hour ago, I was getting ready to fix myself some dinner when I heard the door open & saw on my security monitor a shirtless young man pacing the lobby.  It's 48 degrees outside and the lobby is only 4 paces by 3 paces, short trip.

I didn't bother with my weapon, because this just didn't seem like an occasion when I would have to shoot someone in the kneecap.

"I was just attacked ! he cried."  The kid, as it turned out, had stayed here a couple of nights ago and apparently was working with & now bunking with my "guests" in room three.  In tears he asked for the key to said room so he could get his stuff. " I was attacked and my shirt ripped off me.  I need to get in that room and get my stuff."  He was pounding his fists on the front desk while the tears ran down his face.  I lost interest around then.

"So sorry," I say to the weeper,"but you aren't a registered guest & I 'm not letting  you in the room."
"I need to call 911", he sobbed . I handed him a phone.  I'm a bitch, but not a heartless bitch.  He related his sad tale to  the police and cried that the "lady" at the Dixie Belle wouldn't let him get his stuff.  While waiting for the cops, he asked to call his fiancee long distance, so I gave him my cell.  I went back to my desk, but could hear him crying for sympathy from his lady love.

In the meantime, I called the DH, (because he hates to miss a little drama.)  The DH and the cops got here around the same time, so I let them sort it out and finished fixing my dinner.

Here's the boring tale.  The shirtless weeper & one of his roomies got drunk and argued over what ever young testosterone driven boys get intense about & the weeper got the worst of it.  After he described his suitcase and cell phone, the DH and a cop went in the room, retrieved his gear and sent him on his way to cry on his fiancee's shoulder.  Poor girl.

Most Comfortable Bra Ever?

Yeah, that's me.  I've been working out.

For months now, I've been on a mission to find a comfortable everyday bra.  The one I have loved for many years has been discontinued and my remaining stock is discolored, the elastic is sprung and they're basically unwearable.

On an internet search, I came arcross the "Coobie."  Get it?  A coozie for your boobies.  I immediately ordered two and after a trial run of 4 days declare the Coobie my new favorite bra. 

The deceptively thin straps hold the girls up quite well and are interchangeable with supplied clear straps which come in handy here in Florida where we wear relatively skimpy summer clothing.  One size fits all...I know...but I have to assume it really does. No wires, no hooks.  It slips on over your head.  The Coobie comes in a delicious assortment of colors, because the lace trim looks so cute peeking out.

I ordered two nudes, but will be going back to the website & getting some sassy colors.  Ah yes, price.  The scoop neck is $20.  I got the Vneck @ $22 and there's a bandeau also.

No one is compensating me here.  I'm just so happy that my girls are happy andI wanted to share.

Catching Up

I just finished this novelized history of New York City.  It was a good book, and it made me think of some of my more memorable trips to NYC. 

I was 19 years old on my maiden voyage to the big scary city.  I took the train from Trenton where I was at school.  I had a role in a production of the United States Steel Hour.  For all you kids out there.  TV was live in 1962 and you had to be there.  I stayed at the Barbizon Hotel For Women (just like the movie Stage Door, with Kathryn Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.)  The US Steel Hour drama was called "Street of Love" and starred Millie Perkins and Doug McClure, neither of whom talked to us lowly cast members.

Every broadway show I went to was memorable especially my first which was "The Unsinkable Mollie Brown", starring Tammy Grimes.

I had the real working girl experience when I stayed at a friends west side apartment while working as a model at the Catalina swim suit showroom.

Lunch at Windows on The World at the top of the world trade center with a gaggle of my misfit friends was a unique experience where we laughed until we cried and looking back on it a kind of surreal day.

I've watched football in Yankee Stadium (Army/Oklahoma), eaten in Chinatown, shopped in Bloomies, had a carriage ride through central park, ice skated at Rockefeller Center, enjoyed the MOMA and the Met, toured one of the largest transatlantic cruise ships in the world, rode the Staten Island ferry, and yes got thrown out of the Playboy Club and mistaken for a hooker at a hooker bar and way too much more to tell.

The day I took the DH to the city was exceptional.  We walked in Central Park, where he got taken by a hustler, saw "Le Cage Aux Folles" on broadway, and had dinner at the Rainbow Room at the top of Rockefeller Center where I must say, we were treated like royalty. 

Me and New York go back a long way. The city has always intimidated and excited me and my feelings in that respect probably put me in good company. 

Good Thing They Weren't Elephants

No photos for this post.  It wasn't a pretty sight. Today I checked on some of the rooms which had not been occupied recently.  One never knows.  Unit #3 looked ok on cursory inspection, but when I checked the bathroom, in the shower corner I found a bunch of black dots & smudges.  I also found them on the clean bath mat, and later on the carpet by the door. 

It didn't look like insects or rodent poop, so I had the DH check it out.  He was convinced that it was indeed an invasion by a herd of mice.  There was a hole in the floor of the shower where I saw the biggest concentration.

On reinspection, I found the nasty evidence in other places.  The foil stove top liners were chewed, there was poop behind the toaster and around the sink.  I spent an hour in there, cleaning and recaulking the shower to at least plug up the obvious entrance.  Then I set 3 strategic traps.  This is war!

Thank god they weren't elephants or the poop would have been over my head.

Proud Mama

Here's my DD Danielle receiving her Bachelor of Science degree with top honors from Flagler College.  I was privileged to be there as she was honored with the award for being valedictorian of her graduating class.

Kudos to a woman with such determination that she held down two jobs, raised a family and still managed to earn her degree with excellence.   She is an example and an inspiration to women of any age that if one desires something with passion then one should go for it.

My Winter Escape

I've escaped!!  Well, not completely.  These photos are of a vacation rental I took for the month of December.  I was there the first 4 days of December then had to come back to the DB to take care of some business.  Going back in a couple of days & the DH will join me for the weekend.

The deck is very private and the stairs at the back lead to a rooftop deck with an ocean view.  From the sliding glass doors I can see my own private jungle & I think I'll stick a Christmas tree out there.  I'm not really into Christmas these days, but a tree will look festive.  The place is a little spotlessly clean doll house.  A tad dated, but it has everything I need and is close to the DD and family.

Oh!  Let me bitch for a moment.  I'm paying big bucks for this little get away & when I went to the office to ask about inviting my family to  come into the park and have dinner with me, I was told I'd have to pay $5 a head.  I'm outraged.  I understand the need to monitor the comings and goings, and I would agree if they were overnight guests, but I'm going to have to pay everytime I have someone stop by That's just wrong.  I paid the $20 to have my children to dinner, but that's the last time.

Because I feel it's wrong, I refuse to cooperate.  The DD lives in the subdivision across the street, so I will run a shuttle service in my own vehicle.  I'm reminded of the old drive-in movie days when we used to hide extra people in the trunk.  I won't violate the park policy of no more than 6 people visiting a site, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $5 every time my grandkids want to stop by after school.  I want to have my family over to decorate the tree and have dinner and no way am I paying $30 for 6 guests to visit me for a couple of hours.  Arrest me, throw me out.  Fat chance.

On a positive note, my first few days of relative aloneness were worth the price of admission.  I slept late, shopped, walked, read, cooked and reveled in the pure pleasure of a solitary existance.  I did what I wanted, when I wanted and answered to no one.  I had nothing to do but please myself.  The escape was so worth it and I can't wait to go back.

Hotel Nazis

We get visited by the Florida hotel nazis twice a year and my most recent visit was in July. Two very officious people showed up flashing badges and frowns.  I had to open up three rooms and my laundry/ storage area for inspection.  I've been doing this for 9 years now & usually I get written up for not having my cleaning products properly labeled.

The Florida regs are pretty basic.  Label your chemicals, don't keep chemicals where they can contaminate linens and towels, have working outside fire extinguishers and smoke alarms in each room.These folks wrote me up for stuff I didn't even know were violations.

A cigarette burn in a chair (I have since sewed it together,) a missing ceramic tile in a bathroom (I smacked some joint compound in the hole,) a bit of mold in a refrigerator gasket (I cloroxed it and now do that on a regular basis,) and missing ceiling tiles in my laundry room.  I agree, the tiles needed to be replaced.  They've been like that for 9 years.  After getting the write up, I asked the DH to please, please make that job a priority, because at reinspection, if the violation hasn't been addressed you will be fined.

I've been begging & pleading since July.  I wrote notes and pasted them on his computer.  No luck.  So what I did was go out & buy myself an electric staple gun & hid it.  Can't let the DH touch my tools.  They disappear into his black hole.  Tonight I snuck out to the laundry and tackled the project myself.  Not a piece of cake!  In fact it was a bitch.  The staple gun didn't do the job, so I nailed the damn things up there.  By the time I had 3 tiles done,  I was done.  I'll go out each evening a do a couple more until I fill in all the missing squares. 

If you look close, you can see my handiwork.

I know, it's terrible, but once I fill in all the squares I won't have to worry about a fine.  I'll do a few each day.  PS  I did rotate the photo, but it didn't come out right either.

Fall Anywhere

It's my absolute favorite time of year wherever I am.  These photos are my backyard tonight, just before sunset.  Today was a rare day in northwest Florida.  Low humidity, cool enough to need sleeves and colors so sharp they inspired a double take.

My recent trip to NJ took me through the still colorful leafiness of North and South Carolina and I was appropriately awed. But when I arrived at my DD's home, stepped out of my car into her knee deep drifts of leaves piled at the curb and smelled the earthy perfume of a south Jersey fall, I felt so home.  Not "at home" but home.  The entire time I spent in NJ, I breathed deeply and saved the memory of the scent to bring back to Florida with me.

Ely Rodriguez

I've been in New Jersey for the last week to be with my daughter Denise and her children.  Here is her husband Ely's obituary as written by her.

Ely Rodriguez
42, of Mays Landing, passed away unexpectedly on November 2, 2010

Ely is survived by the light of his life, his son Logan, by his wife Denise, and his three stepchildren:  Zachary, Cody, and Chelsea.  He also leaves behind his stepfather Jose Carmona, his father Gabriel Rodriguez, 16 brothers and sisters, and his beloved nieces and nephews.  He is predeceased by his mother, Nicasia.

Ely was honorably discharged from the United States Army in 1988 and worked as a waiter, photographer, and salesman before settling into his job as a repair clerk at Verizon 11 years ago.  Ely will be remembered for his huge personality, for being the life of every party, for being the Pittsburgh Steelers' #1 fan, and for his ability to make friends wherever he went.  But mostly he will be remembered for his unwavering devotion and loyalty to his family and friends, and for being the best husband and daddy anyone could ask for. 

It goes on to give details of the  celebration of his life which was attended by an overwhelming number of relatives and friends, many who spoke with eloquence and sincerity about this man who loved life, his son and family and the people who will never forget him.

I'm Doing This

　

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 Quite Possibly the Biggest Beach Walk in the World Through a one-day beach walk that covers 825 miles of Florida beaches, organizations and individual volunteers around the state will celebrate our sandy shores and show the world – with photos from each mile - Florida’s beaches are as wonderful as ever. Florida Organizations Partnering for Florida This event is being supported and promoted by a number of great Florida organizations. VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing organization, is hosting the overall effort, including the website to enlist volunteers and promotion beyond state boundaries to potential visitors. Volunteer Florida is organizing the official volunteer efforts across the state. The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is reaching out through its extensive network of partners to let Floridians know about the event and support participants. The Florida Lottery is providing promotional support, and organizations such as the Florida State Parks and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are contributing expertise and volunteers. Sunshine State Momentum Within the first few days of official registration, all 34 Florida beach counties had their volunteer hosts on the case. Local service organizations, Scout troops, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Keep Florida Beautiful, Stetson, and tourism organizations are just a few of the folks stepping up to organize and serve as volunteer walkers and photo-takers in their counties. Event Day Registered volunteers (individuals and groups) will head out to walk their official mile sometime after sunrise and take a photograph along the way to upload to the internet. By 11 am EST, each official County Host will know how many of its county’s miles have been walked and photographed, and will report in to the Operations Centers. All photos will be displayed on
www.visitflorida.com/beachwalk
There will be two hub locations for media - one in Miami and one in Northwest Florida – where Operations Centers will be set up to receive updates throughout the event from County Hosts. Update information will include the number of volunteers participating, the number of miles walked and the photos uploaded to the VISIT FLORIDA website. In both hub locations, there will be:
• a sunrise kick-off address
• groups of walkers heading out at set intervals throughout the morning
• an 11:30 EST closing ceremony to recognize the achievement of the volunteers . Local Volunteers, Local Events, Local Media Opportunities Each county will have its own agenda, but all will follow the overall timing of the event. In some counties, there are
additional special events in conjunction with the Beach Walk. As their schedules evolve, information is being posted to
www.visitflorida.com/beachwalk. We are encouraging media to participate as well as report on the event. Post Event: All photos can be seen on www.visitflorida.com/beachwalk. Visitors to the site will be able to vote on their favorite beach mile and be entered in a sweepstakes to win a Mazda Miata and $5,000 to take their own tour of Florida beaches. Important Connections: www.VISITFLORIDA.com/beachwalk www.VolunteerFlorida.org
GET INVOLVED! REGISTER. Find your county host.Media contact: kathyt@visitflorida.org and (850) 345-6494

See special events in your area. Help spread the word. Thank you!

Interesting Cast of Characters

Last week, here at the Dixie Belle, we were treated to an interesting cast of characters.  First there were a couple of our regulars.  Dr. Domestic Dispute, who wouldn't let me put any calls through to his room from his wife.  "We're fighting," he told me, "and I don't want to talk to her."  Which put me squarely in the middle since the wife called several times.

In a separate room was his assistant, Nurse Snatchit.  Every time she stays here, she takes pretty much everything that's not nailed down.  She doesn't drink our in-room coffee, but takes all packs as well as the cups.  She brings her own soap, but takes our wrapped soap.   We've stopped putting extra rolls of toilet paper in her room because out the door they go.

Mr. & Mrs. Stinky Feet were here for an entire fetid week.  Neither me nor Shegundela wanted to be the first one to open their door for housekeeping.  The shoes left in the room reeked so badly we couldn't inhale.  Shegundela sprayed the insides of all the shoes with OdoBan which is very effective usually but didn't make a dent in those stinky shoes.

The newlyweds were delightful.  Both well into their 70's, they spent an active week fishing and sightseeing.  She gave me 2 jars of her homemade fig preserves and they were absolutely the best preserves I ever tasted.

Then there was Mercedes Guy. Actually a friendly charming guy.  He introduced himself to me, shook my hand, told me he see me again in a couple of weeks and drove out of the parking lot in his black incredibly shiny ride.  I found out how he polished that baby when I discovered my formerly fluffy white bath towels a nasty shade of grey-black.

The pies de resistance was Drunk Harley Guy.  We live in the trailer attached to our office.  When we rehabbed the tin can, we turned the former living room into our master bedroom, so there's an exterior door not far from the foot of the bed.  We do have a gate, albeit unlocked, with a sign saying no entry, private area.  Anyhoo...I was awakened at 11:40 PM by pounding on my bedroom door. 

Rather confused, my first thought was that it might be the DH who could have misplaced his keys, so in my underwear, I thread my way through the maze of rooms to the front office window to check if there's a vehicle outside.  Seeing no vehicle, I go back to the bedroom which is pitch black because I don't want to turn on any interior lights. Someone is still pounding on my bedroom door.   In order to gather my thoughts, I thought I sat on the foot of the bed, but only one cheek made contact and I fell hitting my head, right ear and shoulder on the corner of the opening to the next room while my hip bone made contact with the floor.

Now I'm hurting, I'm bleeding and I'm really mad.  I throw on a robe and go back to my office to get my weapon out of the drawer.  By this time, the knocker has come to the front office door and started pounding again.  From the front desk, I can see a guy with straggly blond hair, a blue cut away T shirt and a lot of tats.  I rested my elbows on the front desk and aimed the gun directly at his head, absolutely ready to pull the trigger. 

The excitement pretty much ends here because he gave up after several minutes.  I had mixed emotions.  I was mad enough to blow his head off so it took another hour before I cooled off enough to go back to bed. 

Next morning  I found a very nice Harley parked out by the front fence.  When Shegundela came to work at 10 AM, she told the rest of the story.  Harley guy went through the fence to the house next door where she lives & pounded on her door.  She had her husband there, so they actually opened their door. Harley guy told her he was too drunk to drive his bike home, so she got dressed and drove him to a motel in town while telling him that he was very lucky that the Dixie Belle lady did not indeed blow his brains out.

This Hotel Manager Speaks For Me

In response to a recent article on the travel site Gadling.com the following comment was posted.  I agree completely with this woman's point of view.  I'm passing this along even though some comments don't apply to the Dixie Belle,but  everyone who ever stays in a hotel/motel can benefit by knowing some of these things before your next stay.

Kristina Oct 5th 2010 10:07PM


I am the General Manager of a hotel in NY. The fastest way to get what you want is ABSOLUTELY to be nice. If you are nasty when you arrive, you can bet on the fact that we will put a note on your reservation, on the housekeeping notes and in what we call the "log book". If you start out your stay nasty, we absolutely will do anything possible to NOT help you. A few important papers, should be locked away at the desk. I know my front desk staff better than I know my housekeepers, and to be quite honest, we are not responsible for the things left if your room. It says it right on the back of your door. Along with the innkeepers laws, the fire escape route, the maximum rate allowed to be charged for the room etc, it tells you right there. The past court cases have sent precedents that a rented hotel room is much like an apartment. I can go in whenever I please, but you cannot hold me responsible for anything that happens to your belongings. Unfortunately, there is no renters insurance for hotel rooms.

1. NEVER book using an internet site. Always call the hotel directly. Sites purchase rooms from us at a discounted rate, which yes, helps us fill rooms. What they don't tell you is that your room is guaranteed for only two people (unless specified otherwise), that your smoking preference is not necessarily guaranteed and that you will be the FIRST person to be moved out of your chosen room type if we are overbooked. We also will move people who pay the most to the suites if we are overbooked on standard room types. You should first and foremost look on the internet for pricing, using sites such as Kayak.com. Then you need to go to our website, THEN you need to call the hotel. If you are staying more than one night, my staff are instructed to automatically offer you a lower rate, or a free suite upgrade at the price of a standard to ensure that you will walk in the door happy and stay with us again.



2. Always research the area you are travelling to. If you do not like noise, DO NOT book an airport hotel. If you start complaining about the noise from the airport, we are going to assume you are a moron. YOU booked this hotel, we did not force you. If you want a lower rate, do not book in the middle of the city. Yes it is convenient. But you will have to pay a hefty parking fee, if you can even get a space. You will also have to deal with more noise. All hotels have their information on the internet, on a printable page that outlines the features of the hotel.



3. Do not complain about the quality of the towels, bedding, soap, shampoo, FREE breakfast, etc. We do not have a choice as to which of these things we purchase and use. Our brands have standards that we have to follow, or we pay fines. You will most likely not get a discount. We will simply come out and tell you that we are forced to purchase these things through our brand supplier.



4. If your room is not cleaned to your standards, please for the love of god, simply ask the front desk to have a housekeeper come by again. I am usually the one who will come and clean your room because I want to see for myself where my staff is lacking. The management really does care what the rest of the staff does during their workday. Mistakes are made. You are not perfect in your job either.



5. If, during your stay, the housekeepers did not clean your room, or did not make your bed, its almost half of the time, the guests fault. If you leave your Do Not Disturb tag on the door, the only person who can go in your room is a manager. And yes, we will check the room to make sure no one is lying in there dead. We are required to enter each room every 24 hours to make sure there is nothing wrong. If your bed is not made, please look to see if you left personal items on the bed. My staff are not allowed to touch your belongings.



6. If you have children, ask to be placed on a lower floor. Or in the rooms directly over the front desk, or other non-room space. Then the kids can run around all they want and you wont get a phone call from my staff asking you to knock it off. We really do want you to enjoy your vacation.

7. Do not EVER yell at my staff. Or get violent. I will have you not only thrown out of the hotel, but I can have you arrested.

8. Do not leave valuables in the room. EVER. There is a safe deposit box at the front desk. All medication, jewelery, money, electronics, passports,

9. When I tell you that there is nothing I can do, there is either A. Really nothing we can do because we are full etc, or B. you have been a complete jerk and I am not going to help you.



10. Do not take things from the rooms. Not the towels, blankets, pillows, ashtrays, NOTHING. My housekeepers do pay attention and I will charge your credit card. On the registration paper that you signed, it clearly states that any damages to the room or theft of items will result in charges to your card. Yes I will charge you twice what it costs for the item.



11. I will post an extra cleaning fee to your room if you leave the hotel and it takes my housekeepers forever to clean up your disaster. They have me come upstairs and take pictures, and no fighting with your credit card company will help you. My account with the card company is bigger than yours as a corporate business.



12. If you want a quiet floor, ask for the floor where the corporate travellers are kept. I put them on the highest floor of the hotel so that they won't be bothered. They spend 50 times what you spend in my hotel and are treated the best. I know all of their names, wives names, have pictures of their kids, and will honest to god bring them breakfast in bed free of charge if they are sick. I will also pick up their drycleaning, have flowers sent to their wife for them or anything else. Corporate travellers are our favorite guests because they usually only have housekeeping come in every few days, dont make any noise, are out early and back late and they dont complain.



13. If you are not travelling on government business, do not try to book the federal rate. I will catch you and most likely charge you more that you should have been charged if you had been honest.



14. Don't try to cram 15 people in one room. You are breaking the fire code and you can absolutely be fined for this. We charge an extra person fee in the room because if costs us more in wear and tear, linen usage, breakfast costs etc. Sometimes, we will waive the extra person fee if you are nice.



15. Dont call the 800 number for the brand. They are in a foreign country and have NO IDEA whether they are booking you in the right neighborhood, much less the right country. We cannot cancel your reservation outside of our cancellation guidelines because the owners of the hotel would fire us. Your $100 is not worth my salary, I'm sorry.



16. Do not let elderly people book rooms for themselves if they are not seasoned travellers. It sounds horrible, but they honestly end up really frustrated because they don't really understand a lot of the policies we have in place and they drive the front desk staff crazy when they say "WHAAAT??" every three seconds.



17. You have to give a credit card to book a room. Period. I will sometimes hold a reservation until 6pm for you. If you are late, I will sell your room.



18. If you do not know the difference between a debit and a credit card, do not use your debit card. Our credit card system cannot tell the difference and will deduct the money from your bank account electronically until well after you have checked out. We release the money back to you the day you check out. It can take your bank up to 10 days to get it back in your account. If you cannot afford to have that money held up, hit the ATM and just pay in cash. You will usually have to put down a fifty dollar deposit, but you get it back. It saves a lot of grief. This is why we ask for a credit card at check in, not a debit card. I will most times not send a fax to your bank telling them to release the funds, ESPECIALLY if you have accused us of stealing your money. We just assume you are an idiot.



19. If you get blood or vomit or urine or whatever on the towels or sheets, please ask for a garbage bag and bag them yourself. My housekeepers really really do not appreciate these messes. I do not let them handle linen that has bodily fluids on it because it is dangerous. They go directly from the bag into our huge washing machines and no one is contaminated. I do not let them bleed all over your room, please do them the same courtesy.



20. If you book an advanced purchase room, you will save a lot of money. IT CAN NOT BE CANCELLED. You receive this courtesy discount because you are guaranteeing you will be in the hotel on that date. We honestly don't care if Great Aunt Frida jumped off a bridge. That is not our fault.



21. If you want to know a really good secret, ask if the hotel is overbooked when you check in. We do something called "walking a room" which means we pay for your stay at another hotel that has space. We have to book you into a place of equal or greater value according to our standards. You get a free room, you help us save ourselves a lot of grief, and honestly, you may end up with a nicer room.



22. Book your room three weeks ahead of time. At least. THEN call the day before, before your cancellation window, and check the rates in town again. Sometimes we have to Fire Sell the rooms to get rid of them. You might just do better. Book the room under your wifes name, cancel yours and there ya go! $20 off. Nice huh?



23. ALWAYS become a member of that hotels loyalty program when you sign in. Gold Crown Club, Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, Priority Club Rewards, Hilton Honors, etc. Ask at the desk for them to sign you up. We get a bonus for signing people up, and sometimes we will upgrade your room for free. A lot of times you will get free drinks, coupons, free bottled water or snack, a pass to a managers reception etc. Not to mention the fact that you earn points which add up to free nights or free stuff in the future.



24. If you have made yourself unwelcome at a hotel, don't try and stay there again. Especially if you have called our 1-800 to complain about something trivial. You cost us $150 in fees, and we will cancel your reservation. Honestly. I have a blacklist. Not only that, but when I kick you out of my hotel for being a jerk, I am going to call all of the other hotels in the area, and they wont rent to you either. I will give them your description and tag number and the staff will be on alert to not rent to you. I really do know the managers of all the other hotels, and we hang out together. Not to mention the fact that the owners of my hotel, probably are friends with, or already own the hotel down the street. Its not really that competitive of a market when you get down to it, because we help each other out a lot.



25. If your secretary books your room incorrectly, dont yell at my staff. The problem is not within our company, its within yours.



26. Don't smoke in a non-smoking room. I really do charge that $300 smoking fee and you won't get that money back.



27. If you have a dog you are bringing on vacation, DO NOT leave them alone in the room all day. They will wreck the room, no matter how good they are at home. If you offer the agent at the desk $20 to dog sit, they will almost always let you keep the dog behind the desk with its food and water, take the dog for a walk a few times on their breaks, and actually give the dog attention. We will charge you if the dog wrecks the room. It's worth the $20. Trust me. If your dog is psychotic, BOARD IT. I have been bitten quite a few times. I am an animal lover, but trust me, eventually its going to be a severe enough bite and someone is going to get sued because I had to go and snatch a dog out of a room because it was bothering our other guests. If your dog bites me, we will have a problem.



BE NICE and you will almost always get your way. Don't freak out because you did not get new shampoo. That does not deserve a $20 discount. I am going to look at you like you are crazy and hand you five little bottles of shampoo and send you on your merry way. And then I will blacklist you.r

I'm Impressed

This morning I had an appointment for a diagnostic test at our new hospital here in Port St Joe.  From the moment I entered, I was treated with courtesy, respect and personal attention.


Now I have a rather checkered medical past and have had occasion to need hospitals up & down the east coast, as well as in a 3rd world country called Louisiana.  My experierence today was a shock to my system.  I'll explain.

When I entered, the volunteer at the front desk smiled and greeted me pleasantly then personally led me to the main check-in desk.  A friendly smiling face took the essential information, then escorted me to a private cubicle for processing.  Actual check in took about 15 minutes because of the mounds of paperwork involved in absolving hospitals of any misdeeds.  However, I was spoken with as if I was a real person and not just an annoying interuption in said paperwork.

After being processed, the clerk  personally escorted me to the radiology lab waiting area & wished me well.  After a brief 5 minute wait, a young tech greeted me with his name and shook my hand.  He offered information, privacy and again, talked with me as if I was a reasonably intelligent co-inhabitant of the planet.  I was impressed.

When the testing was complete, this delightful young man personally walked me out to the lobby and wished that we'd see each other again, but under different circumstances.

I have never had such a positive medical experience and the next time I feel like I need a little love, I'm heading for my little hospital.  Thanks to all of you or ya'll as we say here in L A.