Okay, last time, I had us finally finish our trip to San Marcos. I’d also thrown in a gratuitous aside about a hailstorm that whacked my poor little car halfway to next Tuesday. You’d think, therefore, that I’d be finished with this particular series.
Alas, I’m not. Because there is one last, unpleasant little adventure that I need to relate. It is the tale of the Scam...and the Major Hotel Corporation.
Ready? Okay. Here goes.
About the photos: Three today. First, a photo of the Mermaid Faire. Second, and nothing to do with the story (as per norm), Martha on a much later date when we were having lunch in a restaurant we found in Austin, The Toasty Badger, on Congress Street. Really good food. And, third, an actual photograph of the two time share guys who ambushed us on the street and offered us two nights for just $75. It’s realistic. You betcha.
You remember that after the Mermaid Parade in San Marcos we went to the Mermaid Street Faire in the same town. You’ll also recall that we wandered about looking at the various odds and ends...arts and crafts...for sale in the stands and tents that were everywhere.
Well, as we walked along, all of a sudden, a little man hurried up to us. He asked if he could speak to us about “a great offer.” I was startled and instantly suspicious, but before I could say “No!” he launched into his spiel.
He was, he explained, a representative of a certain large company that had hotels and resorts all over the world. It was a company I knew, and which is genuinely famous and world-wide. You’d recognize it, but because I don’t want to get my derriere sued off, I won’t mention it by name. Let’s just call it the Big & Famous Hotel Company.
He said that Big & Famous was attempting to build greater awareness of its resorts and hotels. It had just completed a new luxury hotel in Austin. And, if we would agree to tour the new hotel, and pay $75, we would be rewarded with a free two-night stay in any of the company’s hotels and resorts.
Now, keep that in mind. That was what he said. That’s what we were told. That was what we were led to believe the “deal” was all about. We just had to visit the hotel, and then pay $75, and we’d have a free two-night stay in any of the company’s properties.
That’s going to be important in the near future.
I wasn’t interested in the Little Man’s offer. Frankly, it just smelled bad to me. So, I politely declined. I said we didn’t have time to listen to his pitch. But, if we found ourselves with a few free moments after we’d seen the Faire, we’d drop by his booth and hear what he said. (I didn’t mean that. I was just being polite. But, that’s what I said.)
We walked on. I figured the incident was closed. I was wrong.
Now, some words about Martha...
She is normally one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And, when it comes to money, she’s always right on target. I mean, ALWAYS. Never a misstep. She’s got a crap detector that’s scary good. And her common sense has helped keep the Good Ship Tucker upright and floating for these many years of sometimes stormy economic waters.
But, she is Scottish, and she has one weakness. To wit, if she thinks she is getting a really good deal...
Well...
She was slowing down. I turned to look at her. She was staring off into the distance. Her eyes were flashing. She had gone, I knew, full Scots-mode. Even now, there were bagpipes wailing in the distance. Guys in kilts were tossing cabers the size of redwood trees in downtown San Marcos. And the Loch Ness Monster...Nessie to her intimates...was doing the Banshee Two-step.
“Seventy-five dollars for TWO nights!” she said, somewhat breathlessly. “Who do you have to kill to get that?”
Yikes.
And, right then and there, I knew we were in for it.
More to come.
Copyright©2024 Michael Jay Tucker
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