Day 14 - Joplin, MO - Part One

Everything changes. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for worse. - Priscilla

Day 14 - Oran, MO to Joplin, MO - Daily Distance - 313 miles - The Bucket Trip Distance - 2550 miles
313 miles

It sounds silly but I was going to miss this Holiday Inn Express.

You spend enough time in a small hotel, you get to know some of the people working there.

The housekeeping staff was incredibly friendly. They were mostly young African-American girls that had clearly been coached on how to greet their guests. The only shy one that I ran into was clearly just out of training.

With the peers that she has around her, she'll most likely come around.

But the one person working here that had stood out to me was Priscilla.

And I was not going to get the chance to say goodbye to her.

She was off yesterday and as I gathered up my clothes to do some laundry, I was a little bummed that I wasn't going to get one more chance to talk about music with her.

I was heading into the laundry area which is just across the hallway from the breakfast area when I hear it.

Someone is singing (off key) along to the one hit wonder, Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Looks like Priscilla is either working a sixth day or she has split days off this week.

I start my load of laundry and head over to my spot in the breakfast area.

I'm so excited that she is here.

Priscilla is doing her thing. After seeing her operate, I now understand that she has a spiel that she uses with all of her guests. The one thing that stands out is that about every 20 minutes, she lets all the guests there know that the breakfast gravy is made fresh every morning.

When you break it down, she has two different ways that she communicates with you. One where she is cracking a joke (and cracking herself up). And one where she is saying something serious but punctuates the end of the though with a "yeah" (similiar to how Billy Bob Thorton would speak in Sling Blade if that makes sense).

She smiles at me and says "HOW YOU DOING THIS MORNING!" and moves on to the work that she has to do. I set up my iPad to catch up on things and have what has become my typical breakfast.

The breakfast room clears out and soon, I'm the only one left there.

Priscilla didn't notice that everyone had left.

She exclaimed, "I don't know where they all went. I took a shower this morning before I came into to work!"

She's cracked herself up again which sends her spinning to her next duty.

I'm laughing now because she has cracked herself. It is hysterical to watch.

She is so genuine and real. She is honestly having fun with her job.

People could learn a lot from Priscilla.

She swings by on a regular basis and we primarily talk about the music that she likes. She has an eclectic and well-rounded group of bands and singers that she enjoys.

She speaks wistfully about Freddie Mecury.

And she is still pining for Steve Perry.

She's going on vacation next month to St. Louis and is hoping to see some concerts while she is there.

I tell her I on vacation too but we are on our way back to California.

I tell her why we are on this trip.

It's the first time that I see her not happy and I find myself cheering her up.

Before I know it, it is 9:30 and Priscilla calls out that breakfast is now over. She starts to break everything down.

I head back to my room and get ready to go. It's probably 11:30 before were are all packed up and ready to head out.

Right before we leave, I hear some random 80's rock blaring.

It's Priscilla in her car. She's leaving for the day.

She rolls down and shouts out her window to have a safe drive home.

I yell back my thanks and watch her pull out of the parking lot.

Singing all the way.