AgTalk Home
AgTalk Home
Search Forums | Classifieds | Skins | Language
You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )

Hotel / Motel etiquette
View previous thread :: View next thread
   Forums List -> AgTalk CafeMessage format
 
mca
Posted 11/12/2012 06:07 (#2692367 - in reply to #2690992)
Subject: RE: Hotel / Motel etiquette Loud, Smelly Farmers


Southern Ontario
Hey

I have had pretty good luck at hotel/motels over the years.
However one of my worst experiences involves fellow farmers as the cause of my poor sleep.
I was at Louisville, KY for the farm show. I had a big agenda and wanted to see a lot of new farm stuff.
I had driven to Louisville---- 6.5+ hours from home and got a room, hoping to start to the show early and fresh in the morning.
Apparently every other other farmer in the Mid-West had decided to stay at the same motel. It was in Indiana, just over the Ohio river.
Things were OK till around 12:00 AM----Then the Diesel pickups started getting back from the bars.
This was a really cold night in the mid 1990's when diesels were really loud.
I am usually a good sleeper but this was ridiculous.
It was a continual parade of cold, knocking diesels, followed by a few (too many) beers, smokes and laughs back in the room till about 4:30-5:00 AM.
Then about 4:45 the more pious farmers that had not gone out the night before, started warming up their winter fueled, diesel trucks while they had their showers. I guessed they were taking out their revenge on the "off the chain" partying farmers.
And since their trucks were well warmed up----- as they left the motel parking lot, of course, it was A-OK to "goose 'er hard" as they dropped it in drive. (these guys were just as big of jackasses as the loud, early morning partying farmers----really they were worse.)
Pickup after noisy, smoking pickup ------same thing all early morning long. They sounded like their crankcases were full of rattling bolts and nuts --only worse 'cause it was 4:30 in the morning.
My window mounted AC/heating unit was really pulling in the particulate/diesel fumes now. My room smelt/looked like our shop, with the doors closed and the old 7700 combine running.
Where was tier 4 when I needed it?
At 6:00, I surrendered and realized that it would have been far better for me to sleep at home till about 1AM and just drove directly to Louisville fair grounds and not payed for the hotel.
The plan of being at the farm show refreshed was hopelessly smoked out.
But I did get to the show nice and early (before 7AM --I told them at the gate that I was an exhibitor--for Cummins--what the heck---I smelt like one).
The next night, I got a different hotel. I made sure my room was not over the parking lot. And I checked for an absence of
colored fuel burners in the parking lot. (As soon as I got to the new room, I had a refreshing, warm shower--mostly to get the soot washed off.)
Since that time, I have speculated on what an unsuspecting city/business person staying at that Indiana motel that night thought of farmers and their rigs.

Anyway I had a great two days at the show. Met a lot of great folks. Got a wacky story to tell my wife (girlfriend at that time). And I smiled thinking of how the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes experience some hard knocks.
Next time I went to Louisville with my good time buddies---in our Ford-Navistar.....

Safe Harvest Everyone.

I just finished drying this year's corn a few hours ago!!!

ED
Top of the page Bottom of the page


Jump to forum :
Search this forum
Printer friendly version
E-mail a link to this thread

(Delete cookies)