ROOM 301

America is in trouble.  Talk about stupied.  It's spring break in Key West, Fl.  I'm driving cab at night.

It's four or five a.m.  People are drunk and desperate for a cab.  Three guys flag me in front of the Bull on Duval St.  We're waiting for number four.

Tall and exceedingly ugly, he staggers out of the crowd, does a drunken sprawl on the hood of the cab and spills his drink all over it.  Not a good sign.

Turns out his name is Larson.  I call him, Larson of the great nose.  He gets in the front.  As we pull off someone in the backs hollars at some girls, "Travel Lodge, room 301".

You guessed it we went to the Travel Lodge.  Larson got uglier.  When we got there the creme of america's best jumped out and ran without paying the driver.

I chased them but they got away.  I went to the lobby.  They asked if I had been robbed, I replied, "sorta". They ran out on the fare.  The mgr. said the police were on their way.

I circled around again but saw nothing.  Then I remembered room 301.  Kinda' stupied if you ask me to hollar out your room number then run out on the fare.  Somebody was wasting good money on an education for these guys.  The scary thing is this was America's future.

When the police arrive I suggest we start with (Drum roll in the back ground please)......ROOM 301.

How clever of me.  Suprise, room 301 was wide open.  I step inside briefly with the police then go back outside.

Some guy approaches me and in a tone of self righteous indignation asks if I had just come out of that room. "Yes", I replied.

What were you doing in there.  I'm with the police and they want to talk to you.  His composure collapsed and his attitude made a dramatic adjustment.

Even more so when the police took him inside and closed the door to tell him they were having a bad hair day and one of them was bald so you know they were serious.

When the hotel manager added they could be evicted if he didn't cough up the fare, he whimpered, "You shouldn't have shouted at me".

He paid up, I left.  Wonder what he told his buddies and if they made good the money in Room 301