East Elmhurst

At least now I know why they asked me that question. I mean, when they asked me, it seemed like a reasonable question. After all, the hotel is just across the freeway from LaGuardia Airport.

If you’ve never been to East Elmhurst, it might be a good thing. As I was looking at the neighborhood from behind the tinted windows of my limousine (o.k., it was a Lincoln Towncar from a Manhattan car service) I thought to myself, “This ain’t a very good neighborhood”. And yet, right here, is the New York-LaGuardia Crowne Plaza. Suffice it to say that I won’t be going on a cardio-walk outside to catch some fresh air.

I don’t usually stay by the airport. But thanks to Delta NOT “being ready when I am”, my evening flight from LaGuardia to Spartanburg was cancelled tonight. Whoopie! I get to stay another night in the city, but since I have already checked out of my hotel and can’t find another one less than $600 a night, I get to visit East Elmhurst.

To make matters worse, the computer system was down when I checked in about an hour ago. I can’t wait to see what has been billed to my room! Which brings me back to the question.

It seemed reasonable enough. When I checked in, I was hungry. My last meal was lunch, which was a chef salad from Au Bon Pain. Great salad, but lasted only about 4 hours. Thankfully, they serve food at the bar in the Crowne Plaza of East Elmhurst.

I ordered the nachos with beef, which was soggy with overcooked (I certainly HOPE) ground beef. And I admit, after the day I had, I ordered a Blue Moon to wash it down with. So back to the question.

I noticed when I entered the bar, which by the way was the ONLY place to get something to eat, that there was a lot of “mingling” going on. Most of these were people in the mid forty to sixty something range. I kept looking for storm clouds and father Noah, because the people seemed to be gathering two by two and leaving the bar together. I thought to myself that if it started raining in there, I might be in trouble.

The man behind the bar said to me, “you haven’t been in here before, have you?” I said, “Nope, and I wouldn’t be here now if my flight hadn’t been cancelled.” He then gave me a warning. He said, “Be careful. This is a hangout for lonely divorced people, or people who are just looking for some companionship for the night. Let me know if anyone bothers you.”

Well THAT’S just great. And all this time, I thought the question asked of me by the clerk behind the counter had to do with whether or not I had an evening flight. But NOOO. The question CLEARLY had a different meaning, which I didn’t pick up on. Because the clerk asked me, “Mr. Lane, will you be staying with us overnight, or just for a few hours?”

Writing from my room ALONE...and hoping to get home tomorrow....

WJLaneSR