A Month in Pocatello One Week-End

Time completely stops when you're miserable. That is exactly how I spent a month in Pocatello, Idaho one week-end. A trip to Victoria, British Columbia started out great until I hit Idaho. My vacation proved Murphy's law was true - everything went wrong that could.

First of all, a computer chip on my car quit working. Something the size of my fingernail shut the entire car down. I was towed into Pocatello where I was told it would take three days to get the right chip.

I needed a hotel, but they were all full. No vacancy anywhere. The local college was having an open house; not a single room available. I spent the night in a coffee shop, drinking Dr. Pepper, wishing I was anywhere but Pocatello.

The next day I started the hunt for a hotel room, hoping someone checked out. I found a room which gave me bed bugs. I had giant welts all over my body.

I ventured out to the streets which were overrun by high school seniors and college transfer students. That is when I was mooned by seven young men who thought they were funny. Trust me, nothing was funny. It was highly probable nothing would ever again be funny.

The chip came in. I went out. I haven't been back. My vacation days were gone; the price I paid for that one little computer chip exhausted all my funds. I went home. I never made it Victoria.