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and last updated August 25th,1999.
WELCOME TO MY DAY..
IT IS NICE TO HAVE YOU SHARE IT WITH ME...
When I told the receptionist at the Hotel Provincial, in New Orleans that I was changing my plans and going to Hattiesburg instead, she thought about that for a while, and said, finally,
HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI,
US OF A !!,
Now John seems to get more like my husband every day....apparently he had some idea checkout time was 1pm so that was why he had sent that alarming message that he would see me for lunch.. so when he got my message about having to checkout by 11am, he hightailed it down to the coast, in time, in fact, to help me with the very last of my stuff, , ..but damn me if he hadn't brought his CAR after all...and here I was with MINE..which John said we wouldn't need, and which I should take back, since ALL hirecar places have after-hours key drop facilities...
So we set off in John's car, with my things now redistributed and all over the place, and of course, John's car cannot go past a military installation..not EVER...which is how I came to see Camp Shelby, since he insisted on doing a detour to this camp where the first , and much-decorated Japanese-American Battallion trained....(even
though he kept saying we had to hurry)., where I took some great pictures
for my husband of how the Americans move machines and equipment, since there was a lot of stuff back from Kosovo just kind of lying about.....no sign of a CONVOY there...just giant road trains..and I mean GIANT!!!
....though that wasn't what they had told ME......
So we took it back to the closed Enterprise yard, and I couldn't find a key-drop box anywhere....and John said all hirecar places keep duplicate sets of keys..so we left the key under the mat and locked the car......Hmmmm! Think you know what will be coming later, don't you?
And then John wanted to take a picture of me with the captured Iraqi Tank, after we had toured the Military museum ..and I took the cameras out of the OTHER bag, and then put my HANDBAG (passport, air tickets, credit cards, contact lenses) down for the photo..and then he had trouble with the camera so I went to help him, and then picked up the camera bag and we got in the car and went on happily to Hattiesburg..and I reached for my handbag to go in and register..and realised I had left it on the ground in front of the Iraqi tank.....so we did a very, very fast trip back, with me rather--er--tense and quiet..and John..well, I hate to think how HE felt., knowing he had been the instigator of Camp Shelby...but the bag was STILL THERE!!
Then John had to take his car to get the wheels aligned, (which was his excuse for getting the car for a few hours), and while it was in the big Sears Facility,
anxious to show me as many good things about Hattiesburg in a short time as possible, he took me first to a Garfields for huge beers, where I was able to help
the young (student) bartender with his travel plans to California, since he was planning a route I recognized, and had actually driven in part....
And for once, JOhn had to take a back seat in the conversation and listen to US!!!
Though it didn't seem to do him any harm...I mean, after that Kamikaze trip back to Camp Shelby, he needed to RELAX!!!
And then he dropped me back at the motel to settle in and unpack while he
went home , promising to come back later for a swim, which, I thought, might
be interesting for him to explain to his wife since he has a pool at
home.
The unit is nice..wish John had got his act together like this in the
beginning. though I think at that stage he had no real idea what I wanted or
needed, and he had his hands full with other things, of course...
And there is a coffeemaker, and free local calls,... and my room is right at the pool, and on the ground floor,so I don't have to get dressed to walk through the hotel lobby to get the other elevator to go up to it...and no waterfall...in fact this is a humble kind of place of exactly the style I like..at a price I like!!! ..
And I had almost finished unpacking and setting up house when John came back, and
he was on his way to KMart for groceries, so I went along, too..it being just
over the road from the Inn, but another of those "NO Pedestrian Crossings and 4
lanes" situations...so I got to ride in the truck after all!!
And then we ate at another "all you can eat for.." place and
he showed me this incredible shopping mall, probably the best I have seen in
America..we wandered through for as long as we dared, and I had my photo taken with some well-known local identitites, and then went for the
car..where the lass behind the counter grinned and said it had " been a
VERY long 45 minutes, Mr Green..but I didn't call your house!"
It isn't as big as the room at Biloxi, and has no spectacular
view..but there is a King-sized bed, with extra pillows, good big workdesk, , plenty of lights and power points, a bath, which I didn't have in Biloxi, a free breakfast
buffet , a goodsized minifrig with a separate little freezer..(they have a
unit they call a microfrig here, where the microwave is set above the frig in a
matching framework)..a small wardrobe beside that and two big drawers between
this desk and the robe..with a big TV on top..and there is a couch/spare bed,
which I insisted on! Apart from the extra comfort, if John is going to
visit here..not that he plans to spend nights here., but if he is to come
here at all...this is to cover MYSELF in a small town!!
And the Inn sits on one of those giant concrete slabs they have here..about a mile square, with several other accommodation houses, a gas-station ...and lots of eating places.. including an Outback Steakhouse right next door!
Marriot may have LOST me!!!
And worked out that I would have to get another car very soon!!
If only to drive across the road to go shopping!
Since I had the microfrig unit, I bought some food supplies, and some icecream, and a beach-towel, as I had planned, and checked out the proximity of a Mailboxes, Inc and a Riteway Pharmacy/Supermarket, and my favourite shoestore..and so on...
And found them all....right there across the street!
And decided I was going to like this small corner of an American small town very much indeed!
And then we DID have the swim..the water is always warm in these places,
never getting a chance to cool down at this time of year, so we sat in it
up to our necks, and did some catching up..like about a year's worth!!
And after that, I even found a place where I could dry my washing....
And , first thing next morning I phoned Enterprise Car rentals, back in Biloxi and advised them that they had my beloved red car back in their yard.....
Now remember, one of the reasons I had moved was because John kept telling me he could save me money.........
And they said "Yes, Ma'am , and where is the key?"
And I told them that it was under the mat , and that they could use the spare key, the spare key my friend assured me they always keep, to let themselves in.....
And they said, "Ma'am, we sure wish we HAD a spare key but it sure looks like we are going to have to get a locksmith right here, and bill you the cost......shouldn't be much more'n fifty dollars Ma'am....."
And this was BEFORE we left the giant gin in the frig at Dobbin Air Base, and before the "Call Home" calling card call turned out NOT to be ($US$158), and before I poured the beer into this computer and had to call out a repairman (US$180 an hour!!!!)
But I'll keep you posted!
NEXT BULLETIN STILL ABOUT HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI !!!
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1998
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July 16th: July 5th: June 21st: June 14th: June 7th: June 2nd: May 21st: May 12th: May 2nd: April 20th: April 12th: April 3rd: March 22nd: March 12th, 1999: March 4th, 1999: February 10th, 1999: January 11th., 1999: December 28th., 1998: December 12th: December 7th: November 24th: November 19th: November 5th: October 28th: October 24th: October 6th:
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©Robin Knight, 1999.
