Well, at least I didn't have to ask if they missed me.............. [View all]

[DFW]

Last night, I spent the night in a hotel in Sprout City that I usually stay at 30 nights a year. It is halfway (kinda, sorta) between Paris and my city of Düsseldorf, and spares me hours of travel per week. Years ago, my outfit gave me the green light to stay there overnight instead of leaving home at 5 AM, getting back at 11:00 PM, and getting up again at 5 to be in Belgium the next morning. The staff at this hotel is very international, and I learned most of my Tagalog from them. I also get to practice my few words of Turkish, Portuguese, Macedonian, Swahili, Romanian and Arabic with those employees to whom those are native languages. On of the Arab women even speaks Catalan! She lived for a while in Barcelona, as I did.

Now open again, but with much of the staff on furlough and the restaurants closed, the hotel is trying to survive by wooing their regulars back with low tariffs and a few small perks. Breakfast is not longer their fabulous buffet (for which I cried bitter tears), but rather a voucher for the Exki across the street (oh, well). Anyway, there were only few staff on duty. When I got to my room, I looked at the bed and blinked. I must be imagining this.

In the middle of the pillows on the bed, there was a pillow with my name on it and a logo of Belgian Fries (there is no such thing as "French" fries, even if House Republicans never understood that) underneath, plus the words (in English), "For all your nights in Brussels, Welcome back." Not inked in by hand, but actually part of the pillow design!!! I had to laugh at that one. I had only reserved the room a week ago. Someone acted fast!

I almost wanted to take it with me and amuse my wife, but I don't steal stuff from hotels I stay in. This morning, as I was checking out, I saw the manager, who is one of the two or so real Belgians who work there (the previous manager was German). She is Flemish, so we speak Dutch with each other. She asked if I liked the pillow, and I said yes, it was a great surprise, and that I almost wanted to take it with me. Surprised, she said, "you mean you didn't?" I said, no I usually don't take pillows away from hotels I stay in. She said," but this one you were SUPPOSED to take with you!" She went behind the counter, got my room key, re-activated it, and went up to my room, got the pillow, put it in a waterproof laundry bag and gave it to me. My wife laughed her head off when she saw it this evening when I got back to Germany.

"Toto, I got the feeling we're not in America any more." Welcome back to Europe.

Take THAT, you stupid "My Pillow Guy." THAT is how it's done.