So my dad is a cop, and he has always been strict about everything. Especially when it came to drinking. I have always envied those of my friends who could just sit down and have a beer with their dad, but after my 20th birthday, I always just suspected i would have to wait till I was 21.

  Well recently I moved across the the country, and my dad drove with me. So by the end of day 1 after driving 16 hours, we ended up in the cluster of hotels, closest to Mount Rushmore. It was nearing 2:00 in the morning and all we wanted to do was sleep, but every hotel we checked was either booked up, or their rooms were about 200 dollars a night (it was peak tourism season).

Image by Mister.Marken via Flickr

  So after much ado we decided, “what the heck, lets check out Motel 6″. Well sure enough they had vacancies. After getting our stuff up into the room, my dad decided he was going to go to the store and get a six pack to relax, and i decided i was gonna jump in the shower. Shortly after my dad left, i was getting ready to get in the shower, and i suddenly heard someone banging on the door of the room next to ours, and some obscene yelling.

   I dont know why but i thought maybe someone was going room to room robbing the occupants. As i looked at the door to make sure it was locked, i saw a sticker on the inside of the door that read “Please lock both the deadbolt, and the chain lock, to ensure the safety of our guests”.

   That is not a comforting sign!

   I was sitting there, scared like a schoolgirl, and suddenly i hear someone messing with the door, after a moment, the door swings open, and in walks…        My dad!

   He walks in and looks at me like “What the hell? Do i need to call an exorcist?”. I like to think maybe my nerves were just fried from the long day of driving, but you can think of me what you want.

   Soon after i get out of the shower, and my dad is watching the wrap up on E.S.P.N. I lay down, just wanting to sleep, since i have another full day of driving ahead. But my dad walks over to the ice bucket, pulls out a beer, and hands it to me, and says “here you’ve earned it, we’ve had a full day, good job”.

  Im sitting there, in reverie thinking, “wow, im finally enjoying a beer with my dad, like a man. He’s actually treating me like an adult”.

  Suddenly it hits me, Im in a ghetto Motel 6, somewhere in South Dakota, I thought i was going to get robbed and mutilated, and my mind and nerves are fried”. Wow, my dad finally hands me a beer and i dont even want to drink.

  I choked it down, not wanting to waste the opportunity, and finally pass out.

  Honestly though, its a good memory. This way i’ll always remember it i guess.

  I would also like to take a minute to say, that was the first and last time i will ever stay in a Motel 6. I mean seriously, have you ever seen those rooms? They’re like 8′ by 8′, in a room with two beds. Well i guess the ladies of the night dont really need that much space, but why even offer a room with two beds, are the ladies on the corner dealing with this economic crisis by sharing their working space with one another?