Friday, May 9, 2014 Kingman

Early Monday I moved to another room because Monday was the day the men were coming to install an elevator and add several handicapped accessible rooms so the motel will comply with the directives of the ADA. I sense from their urgency that they should have done this a long time ago and are in a hurry to get it done now.

Tuesday afternoon the workers arrived. Men in denim and boots, backhoes, heavy machinery and giant pick up trucks fill the parking lot. There are many guys and only one is driving the giant concrete and dirt eating machine. I sense that the others are keeping an eye on the driver.

All the guests cars are jammed together in the outer reaches of the available space.

By Tuesday evening they have installed a chain link fence around seven rooms and have torn the facade off the supporting pillar at the corner. I sense that possibly the upper floor will fall when the pillar is gone. I think it is too far away to affect my room.
They dig a hole next to the walkway in front of the fenced off motel room doors.
There is much growling of machinery and shouting among the workers. Get back. Watch out. Where's your helmet? Lots of swaggering and spitting. They take turns eating McDonald's and Taco Bell.
When the hole is fourteen feet long and 12 feet wide and at least six feet deep there is a deafening crash followed by silence. I was in my room, but I could  hear the gasps among the workers. I sense something has gone wrong.
The giant earth mover/digger had bitten a hole in the conduit that housed the giant main electrical supply cord for all the power in the motel. The supply cord itself was intact. All work stopped. All the men and machinery and trucks disappeared. Only fast food wrappers remained at the work site.

On Wednesday a man from the power company showed up – I could tell from his truck – It said electrical something on the side. He got out of the truck and circled the chain link fence on foot. He eyed the dirt hole and the broken conduit. The chain link fence was padlocked and I sensed he was baffled about what to do. Shaking his head he got back into his truck and drove off.

Wednesday night was the night the three loud talking people partied in front of my door. They spoke French, so I sensed they were French. I made that assumption even though I couldn't see them. I kept my curtain closed so they wouldn't notice me.

Thursday morning was the talk among the cleaning ladies about the bloody sheets and the missing pillowcases.

Today is Friday. No one else has even looked at the construction site since the electric guy was here on Wednesday morning. It's like it is invisible.
One of the dog people's dogs was sniffing around the fence this morning, but they quickly lured him away with scrambled eggs from the breakfast bar. This afternoon he was back, sniffing and digging. This time he got ice cream.
I chatted up the maids, but they are mum and no one remembers the bloody sheets.

Now it is Friday evening, just before dark. I walk over to the ice room and on the way back with my McDonald's cup of free ice I scope out the hole. I notice that it has been about half filled with dirt. I sense something funny is going on here.