A Living Magazine - Day 323 - Homecoming - Torrington: The Quick and the Sleepy

Morning came quickly. It was so nice to see a clear sky. I really felt dirty and dingy.  I was saving my second change of clothes for laundry. I really needed a hotel room. I noticed online the afternoon before, that there was a Days Inn right on Route 4 in the middle of Torrington. It was expensive (at least for me), but less expensive than any other place around. Somehow I needed to beg for money, do a laundry, write a post, hopefully get the room, take a shower, and try to have enough left over to eat. Such were my thoughts as I packed up.

I climbed down from the piney bank and crossed the little stream then stepped onto the road. I was delighted after all the hill climbing from the day before, to be walking down hill the whole way into town...

I walked straight up to the Days Inn, then turned and walked back to Burger King, which was right across the street. I needed to check and see whether I had enough funds. Also, I needed Joyce's help to introduce me, in case the expired ID was going to be a problem...

It turned out that I had almost enough to buy the room for a night. Another modest donation came in, and I just needed to wait for a reply back from Joyce. In the meantime, I decided to do laundry. The day was slowly ticking away, and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I located a coin laundromat about mile away and did my laundry, changing into my shorts...

Downtown Torrington

When I got back to Burger King at about 4:00 p.m., I found a thumbs up from Joyce, with the caveat that the desk manager had "the personality of a piece of drywall." And, she was right, the guy was a Hindu robot.

After check in I got up to my room, plopped the backpack on the bed, took a shower, and tried to work for a while. But I began to nod off. This happens when I'm off the street, alone in private, and have a bed and bathroom to myself. I couldn't help myself. I simply had to lie down.

There in the golden sunlight of a mid-spring's late afternoon streaming in through my open window, and feeling a cool breeze pass over me, I fell asleep, and stayed asleep for twelve hours.