My Thanksgiving Lesson

My day started at 6am yesterday. I wanted to get some riding in before we headed to Vegas to spend Thanksgiving at my cousin Henry's house. We traveled with my parents, aunt, uncle and other cousin and ended up getting rooms at the Silverton Casino Hotel. My back hurt from driving 3 hours in my dad's nice but unfamiliar Ford Flex. A minor confusion with the reservations and it took a while to get things sorted out by my uncle. Given the crazy Thanksgiving weekend and all, I was patient and sat on the extremely comfortable couch in the hotel lobby. Kids milled about and 20 minutes, later, still no room. Next thing I heard was "Sir, you're not allowed to sleep in the casino." This kid rent-a-cop stood over me and waking up disoriented and all, I didn't even bother arguing the merits or justification of that rule or policy. The clock told me I had been out for 20 minutes, which means this is the longest I ever had to wait for a friggin room key. If they don't want hotel guests to fall asleep in their lobby, either get them their room keys sooner or provide uncomfortable couches or maybe some lighting that doesn't fool everyone into thinking it's night time. I did not realize until today that the whole incident was a lesson in being grateful for what I have. Now I know what it's like to be without a place to sleep. On this Thanksgiving day, I am thankful I have a home.