My parents used to take my two sisters and me to Bowling Green, Kentucky to visit “Old Granny Barner”. She was my grandfather’s mother but we knew her as “Old Granny Barner”. We traveled most of the way on US – 31 which was the main highway heading south towards Bowling Green prior to the current highway system. My dad packed the car and made sure that the backseat was as flat as possible. (There were no seatbelts.) The three kids sat in the back, played games, and slept. Much of the driving took place at night so that we would sleep most of the way.
My mom was originally from Kentucky. She moved to Michigan was she was four and her younger sister, Ruth, was two. Grandpa Barner had a farm and lost it all when his livestock got hoof and mouth disease. He had to put all of his animals down. He packed his wife, Margaret, and two daughters and headed to Michigan. The Barner clan left behind uncles, aunts, dozens of cousins, and all of their friends. Most of our family trips were back to Kentucky so mom could reconnect with her extended family.
Everyone in Kentucky had two names. While my sisters and I were known as Sharron, Jackie and Robbie, our Kentucky cousins, aunts, uncles and friends all used their first and middle names all of the time. If they didn’t have a middle name, they were addressed by their first and last names: Lela Faye, Norma Jean, Bobby Joe, Beverly Sue, Hershel Walker, Kate Brite, etc. etc. It’s a southern thing.
While many of our visits focused on “Old Granny Barner”, we didn’t stay with her more than once. She lived in an apartment that she had within the home of some family friends, the Wands. The only time that I truly remember staying there we arrived very late and went straight to bed. Breakfast the next morning included homemade biscuits, grits, pork chops and fried chicken. My dad remembered and talked about that breakfast until the day he died.
Later, when Granny couldn’t live on her own any longer, she moved to an “old folks home”. It was a huge, grand, home on a large estate. She had a private room but our visits with her took place in a large parlor. There were several overstuffed chairs and couches, ornate lamps, elaborately designed tables, and formal portraits on the walls. It was a place for adults and intimidated young kids including me. I never wandered within the “home” during our visits.
We stayed at the Laurel Motel in Bowling Green during most of our trips. The motel was owned by one of our “cousins”. If the motel was full, my dad paid $15.00 a night. If the motel had several open rooms, we paid nothing. I didn’t understand that arrangement until I got older and figured out that when the motel was full our “cousin” was losing income if we didn’t pay. When there were several vacancies, we occupied one of the open rooms. Our “cousin” didn’t lose any income and we stayed for free. The older I got, the more I understood the economics involved in the arrangement.
I was reminded of these stays in Kentucky when speaking with two of our friends in The Villages. Jack and Diane rarely, if ever, book hotels in advance as they travel. They drive until they decide to stop for the night and book a place wherever they end up. While they have no guarantees that they will indeed have a place to stay, so far the system has proved to be a success most of the time.
Jack does most of the talking when they decide to stop. His “go to” move is to offer a flat fee of $100.00 for the night’s stay. He takes the lead in the bargaining. The way he figures, if the hotel has an opening, they may be willing to take his offer rather than have a room go unfilled. If the location and time feels right, he’ll offer less. Many, many places have taken him up on his offer. He and Diane travel as long and as far as they like, most often get a deal on a room, and the hotel gets a last minute booking. Everyone is happy.
On one of their “without a reservation” trips, Jack and Diane decided to stop around 10:00 at night. They saw what they thought was a golf resort and decided to ask for a room. (There was a golf course adjacent to the main building.) Jack took the lead and offered the man at the front desk $100.00 cash for a room for the night. “It’s just two of us and we’ll be on the road early tomorrow morning. We are just looking for a clean place to stay for the night.”
The attendant agreed to Jack’s terms, took the $100.00, and escorted the two guests with an offer of “I’ll take you to your room.”
As the three entered the elevator, they found an elderly lady in her bathrobe and slippers. The attendant asked “Carol” what she was doing “up and about”. “Carol” offered a brief explanation and exited the elevator. Jack and Diane completed their escorted trip to their room and discovered a very nice “suite”. The room had a grand piano, family pictures on display, and a closet full of clothes. They were obviously about to spend the night in someone’s already occupied space, but decided to stay anyway. They had completed their transaction, and the attendant had agreed to Jack’s terms, so they spent the night.
They left early next morning as promised. As they departed what they thought was a golf resort, they saw the sign for an assisted living complex. They’ll never know if the room they rented for one night was available because the occupant was “away for the evening” or “deceased”. In any case, they had struck another deal, had a clean bed, and were happy with their good night’s sleep.