Across The USA by Dodge
Chapter 22
Now the most amazing story from the whole trip. This really happened. I'm thinking of writing a movie about it ....
I got into Denver late on Friday afternoon. The first two motels I stopped at were booked out so I turned onto the main drag (Colfax Avenue) and spotted a vacancy sign at the Lazy-C Motor Lodge, on the corner of Colfax and Xenia. It looked reasonable so I thought "this will do". I turned into the drive, walked to the office and paid my money for two nights (the owners names were Ki and Soon Choi) then headed to the room. On the way across the courtyard there was a black dude sitting in a real hot car (with 'hot' most likely the operative word). Another black guy approached him and said "Is this gonna be the decoy?" I pretended I didn't hear anything (decoy for what?) and walked to my room. OK, nothing to worry about.
The first thing I saw when I opened the door was the TV. It was attached to the wall and chained down so you couldn't steal it. On the side of the TV was a little calendar. Nothing strange about that but then I looked a little closer. The advertisement on the calendar said "Duane Lee Bail Bonds -- circle your court date here!" F**k, what sort of people frequent this motel? OK, nothing to worry about.
I unpacked, had a shower and went to get something to eat at some nearby Mexican fast food joint. When I got back to the motel I started reading my "Let's Go: U.S.A." guide to plan where to go the next day and glanced at the Denver accommodation section... "Avoid the west end of Colfax Avenue, especially at night." West end? West end? Which side is that I thought? Umm, the sun sets in the west ... so that means I'm on the west side of town. (Where else?) OK, nothing to worry about.
I was feeling pretty tired so I decided to just watch some TV and get an early night. I must have fallen asleep but at about 11pm I heard someone in the next room yelling, and it was getting louder and louder. "I'm gonna kill you, you f*****g bitch", then the sound of smashing glass and a slamming door. Then after a short respite "Let me in bitch or I'll smash the f*****g door down. Open up or I'll shoot you, bitch." A few minutes later there's the sound of a police siren and a car wheeling into the motel courtyard. I looked out the window and saw two cops dragging a big black dude into the back seat of their patrol car. He glared at me, probably thinking that I'd phoned the cops. Mmmm, OK, nothing to worry about.
The next day (Saturday) was uneventful as I visited tourist attractions across the city although on the morning news I had heard that there had been a shooting in West Denver overnight which is where I was!
After a full day's activities (at Larimer Square, the 16th Street Mall, Capitol Building, State Historical Museum, Celebrity Sports Center) I watched TV for a while (there was a "Tales From the Crypt" episode on which starred Brad Pitt featuring music by Warren Zevon) then hit the sack and was out like a light. Then there was this annoying noise -- ring-ring, ring-ring, ring-ring. I woke up and realised it was the phone. I rubbed my eyes, looked at the clock radio (it was midnight) and wondered who could possibly be phoning me. [All these different thoughts race through your mind but realistically no one (family) from Australia would have been able to track me down.]
"Hello," I said, still three-quarters asleep.
"Is there anything on tonight?"
"Huh?" I said, still half asleep.
"Is there anything going down tonight?"
"What?" (I think this is a wrong number.)
"Is there anything going down tonight?"
"I think you've got the wrong number."
...and now for the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life...
"What room is this?"
Without thinking, I blurted out "Eighteen." (As soon as I said that it was a case of "Oh f**k, what have I done?") Now I was wide-awake!
Needless to say, I didn't sleep terribly soundly for the remainder of that night, expecting anytime some mean-looking black thief who'd just dialled the wrong extension to bust down the door and point a gun at my head -- "Hey motherf****r did you call the cops on me?" I must have eventually fallen asleep as I remember waking up the next morning and thinking "Is this heaven/hell (delete whatever's not applicable)... no it's Rocky Mountain High Denver... no bullet holes in my forehead, whew! Let's get out of here."
At least I got to experience a part of America that most tourists are oblivious to!
Chapter 23
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