Tag Archives: Best Motel

Journey 3, Day 9: The Joys of Resurgence

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 8, 2023, Bedford, PA- It could have been any small town hot dog stand, in any small Midwestern town, with a perky, in-charge high school cheerleader cooking, serving and keeping interlopers out of the kitchen-a perfect after-school job. Dogs On The Run, though, is in East Palestine, Ohio-site of a severe toxic waste spill, following a freight train derailment, in February of this year.

I went to E.P., this afternoon, to see how well the town is doing, and how much of the recovery is being done on its own. It was gratifying that a team of EPA workers was having lunch at Dogs, the same time I was there. They were a relief team, who had just arrived, and were being briefed by the section chief. The spirit in East Palestine seems cautiously optimistic. The Feds were a bit wary of my taking photos around town, but I took none of them, or any other people. The citizens were polite and appreciated getting support.

EPA is still in the game.
A great place for lunch, and a one-woman show.
THIS is the attitude I found, all over town.

After bidding farewell to a visibly tired clerk, at Best Motel, earlier this morning, I headed to one of Toledo’s classiest breakfast/lunch establishments: Reynolds Garden. The place was packed, at 9 a.m., and the hostesses, servers and bussers were in constant motion. The corned beef hash was excellent, and Garden has heart- a little girl was confused, on her way from the restroom to her table, and was calmly and quietly helped to find her mother, by the lead hostess.

East Palestine has a roadmap to recovery-defining “Strong” through hard work and a solid community spirit. So, too, does Imperial, PA, where police and fire units responded swiftly to a road emergency, near a Day Care Center, as a dozen drivers, including me, were turned around, out of the way of the operation. So, too, does Toledo, and North Platte-and every community where “strong” has been attached-including New York on 9/11/01.

My faith in the human spirit has been re-affirmed, with every mile traveled and every hour passed.

Journey 3, Day 8: Choosing the Talk, Figuring The Walk

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 7, 2023, Toledo, OH- There he stood, in the middle of a thankfully empty downtown street, trying to remember where he had parked his car. Having been in that predicament, myself, quite a few times (though taking care to not stand in the street), I asked if I might be of help. He mentioned the name of a landmark, near where his car was-and I was able to reorient him on his way.

A short time later, having had a bracing lunch of teriyaki chicken and rice,at Koya, in Wilmette’s village center, I spent about an hour in prayer, in the Baha’i House of Worship and at its Visitor Center. Of particular personal concern was being able to know in which direction my acts of service might fall, each day going forward.

Mostly, this has been sparked by a few instances of self-doubt, or momentary confusion. After reflection, though, it is more a matter of trying to do too much, too quickly-which is something that has ever been a challenge in my repertoire of behaviours. So, with a prayer to direct the urge for service in the optimal direction, I set out from the Holy Temple.

The Chicago Dance, as I call the flow of traffic along the Windy City’s freeways, lasted about an hour-from Dempster Street, Evanston to the Chicago Skyway. At one point, the first person I’ve ever seen freeze, whilst trying to change lanes, caused the driver behind me to open his window and bellow “Get moving, NOW!”, while the lady in the next lane looked about ready to spew equal venom. All I could do was inch forward and wait until the frightened one had moved his car completely out of my way. The car had Illinois plates, but who knows? Hapless Harry finally managed to screw up enough courage to go forth, in about a minute-which is an eternity to Chicago’s seasoned drivers.

In my own space, it often takes a few tries to get things right, so I did not fault either the frozen driver or the person experiencing parking space amnesia. In fact, once I got off the Tollways, the desire to get as far east as possible overcame prudence-and I had to call around and apologetically cancel a scheduled online meeting. I did find Best Motel, an aptly-named accommodation, here in Toledo. It will be another link in my continental chain