I was born in the early eighties and missed growing up in the seventies, unfortunate? perhaps…read more There was one place though that transcended the changes in home furnishings and decor that progressed through the late seventies and into the early eighties. This place was my grandparents home. Built in the late seventies it kept the same tacky decor for much of my childhood, running up into the early nineties. Blue Shag rugs, crushed-gold velvet couches, gaudy fake chandeliers, fake wood paneling, oil canvases of mountain views, "cottage cheese ceilings". All of these were to be encountered in any trip to my grandparents humble abode. I missed it. And then recently I had to book a motel for two weeks in the Appleton, WI for a gig at the nearby paper mill in Kaukauna, WI. I called them up and received an agreeable weekly rate. After the end of my first shift I headed to my reserved room in the early morning hours. When I walked in I whisked away back to my childhood and visits to my grandparents home all over again. The brown shag rug, the fake wood paneling, the oil canvases of mountain views, huge glass ash trays, the smell of years of hard cigarette smoking absorbed into the once white now yellow curtains, a small chairs with ball casters in front of a tri-level desk\ dresser. It was all very reminiscent of my days of yore in the home of Octavio and Dorothy. A couple times I found myself swilling Schlitz or Blatz from a can just to give the added effect of the late seventies complete with Electric Light Orchestra playing from the mammoth alarm clock\ radio. Good times, indeed.
The sanitary conditions of the hotel were acceptable, although the fact they could only clean my room between the hours I was sleeping during the day was somewhat bothersome, but no big deal. Fresh towels and wash cloths were constant. The women whom took my reservation was very helpful and courteous as well. She kept me on the weekly rate even though I had stayed over the two weeks. The conditions were decent as well having a laundry mat in house as well. I found their refrigerators to be quite lacking in size, honestly. But, then again it kept a twelve pack, sausages, and jarred-pickled beets and cabbage cool enough. Some of my fellow brothers in the trade stayed in the same motel during the job, but in the older side and they complained about much, but also said it had lower rates on than my room, but much smaller.
I found the "Snugg" to be such a gas that I invited some fellow boilermakers over at the end of the job for some beers early in the morning, oddly they did not share my fondness of the decor, perhaps they didn't have enough LaCross Lager.
