Have you ever made a reservation at a small hotel in the middle of nowhere and then gotten the bum's rush at the end of the process, after you've given your credit card number and before you've gotten your confirmation number?
I just had that experience because I am a RAGBRAI-er. Mind you, I didn't say I was until the owner intervened to stop the reservation process by the clerk. Should I have to? I already know that there's prejudice among certain Iowa innkeepers against RAGBRAI-ers, who've apparently been known to make reservations without canceling them later if need be or turning up to use the rooms.
Why this should create resentment was a mystery to me until an innkeeper just now explained to me that credit card companies often take the side of the credit card customer. Why should they? I forgot to cancel a motel once in Mason City once and stayed at a friend's house instead. I was charged over $100 and it smarted. Sure it did. But I didn't object. It was my fault I forgot to cancel, so I took my lumps. It never occurred to me that others wouldn't do the same if they forgot to cancel.
So certain innkeepers scream at me to pitch a tent and get lost because of what others do. It's not me costing them money, but I guess I'm handy. I'm supposed to reveal myself as one of THEM when I'm not one of them. I'm a RAGBRAI-er, but are we all alike? I hope not.
Are we the haves while the innkeepers feel like the have-nots? Is this some sort of class warfare? Or is it partisan warfare? I do know that when the Republicans gave out free water, I didn't see anyone stop to get some. I do know that libertarian talk show host Jan Michaelson used to go on RAGBRAI and doesn't any more. Did he feel maligned?
I remember my fury when I saw the "Bush/Cheney '08" RAGBRAI jerseys on RAGBRAI in 2008. I asked the riders, "Is that a joke?"
One rider turned to me and asked harshly, "Is freedom a joke?"
If I could have kept up with them I would have given them a really hard time, but I couldn't. They were young but beginning to get intimidated. They hadn't expected it to be so hard to stay in character. They were getting some major hostility, and not just from me.
As they lay in the grass, however, for a rest, we caught up to them and found out on inspection that their jerseys were a big joke.
"Death-[excreting] freedom eagles" was written on their shoulders. Charlie Brown-sized heads of Dick Cheney floated on stick Dick Cheney bodies around the bottoms of their jerseys.
Stay away from the Elms Motel in Fayette in December, RAGBRAI-ers. They're not taking any reservations till January 15th or after, although they hadn't informed the desk clerk prior to her taking my reservation in its entirety. The motel owner and the Chamber of Commerce have decreed that it be so. Better yet, according to the Elms Motel owner, "pitch a tent or stay somewhere else."
He let it be known that he'd been ill-used by RAGBRAI-ers and he doesn't trust us. Never mind that I have never ill-used him or anyone else in the motel business in any way. Far from it. I've argued with innkeepers who've given me one price on the phone and raised the price once I got there, but who's ripping off whom in such an exchange? I bring the originally quoted price with me and stick to it. They usually back down.
Since when did the motel business in Iowa become an oriental bazaar? Any more it's like buying a car. Everything's up for grabs, and I can't say as I like it much. It's refreshing when you talk to an honest man or woman and get a straight price with no funny business.