u/Humma_kavula15

Hi all - Im trying to find a Dick Francis book based on a scene described to me by my dad. I have not personally read any of the books (yet!), but have tried looking up quotes and haven't gotten anywhere.

My dad described a scene in one of the books where the protagonist is knocked unconscious, then locked in a horse stall and left for dead. He wakes up, and is at first happy he survived, but then starts to be bummed about being locked in a smelly horse stall. There is a poignant line, that goes something like "and then, as so often afflicts the human condition, sheer elation at the joy of being alive was soon replaced with the wish that things werent a bit better."

(to be sure, this is all my memory of my dads retelling of his recollection of the scene, so Im sure its not spot on, certainly not the quote)

Thanks!

Bună ziua!

I am visiting your lovely country for the second time soon, this time bringing my parents along, and I am very excited to explore some new areas!

We are planning to stay in Bucharest for a few days, then head to Oltenita catch a boat ride up the river a bit. We were hoping to get close to the harbor the day before, but it looks like its slim pickings for hotels in Oltenita.

I do, however, see quite a few options across the river in Tutrakan, but am having trouble seeing if there is any easy way to get across it? I see some news articles from a year or so ago saying a ferry would be up and running, but I do not see anything that looks like it is.

Assuming there is boat traffic, would it be possible to pass a fisherman (or similar) some cash to take us across? We would then want to get back across the next day, so wouldnt want to risk it if its too unreliable, but curious if anyone knows of any options.

Noroc!

Hi all

Not a FD worker, but a guest who enjoys the stories on this sub. I'm currently visiting a small town (in the US), and went for the budget option. Not a great place, and got the vibe it was a bit of a hangout for drunks/druggies (local or otherwise), but it's not the worst place I've stayed. Room looked clean, door locked, so its okay for me since I just needed somewhere to sleep and store my stuff.

Last night, around midnight, I woke up to someone being asked to be let in. A friend is also visiting town, but staying separately, so I thought it was maybe him in some trouble. I groggily got up, and realized the door had been opened, but the security chain was on. Whoever on the other side of the door was clearly not my friend, and seemed confused. After a few back and forths of 'who are you' and 'what do you want', I just said he had the wrong room and he left. I chalked it up to a drunk looking for his friends room and getting to mine by mistake.

About half an hour later the room phone rang, and it was the front desk. I had already gone back to sleep, so was re-groggified, but he tried explaining that the man had been a previous guest who had stayed in my room, and asked some weird questions about if the room had been clean when I arrived. It was weird, and he apologized for calling so late, then the call ended and I went back to sleep.

This morning, I gathered my valuables into a day bag (realizing some random person had been given a key card to my room) and went down to the front desk. I explained someone had tried to get into my room in the night, and the FD seemed confused at first, but eventually said, "oh yea, thats a local with dementia, he had been staying in your room a few days ago and forgot he checked out. Sorry about that."

Okay, cool, bummer for the guy having dementia and being in a situation to be in and out of a local motel, but cant fault him too much for being confused. But, as I explained to the FD, why the hell did he have a key to (what was now) my room? Did the overnight guy give him a new one or something? FD kind of brushed it off with, "Yea Ill talk to him about that". I had to sort of press him to confirm no one else currently had a key card to my room, but didn't really get the warm and fuzzies from the interaction.

So I don't know, I have two more nights booked, and think its most likely just a one off mistake, but I do not feel great about leaving stuff in my room when Im not around to put the chain on. And the casualness of the FD, as well as not realizing the actual issue of concern, didn't really help the situation.

Other places in town are much more upscale, but I am considering paying the premium to not have to worry about access to my room being given out to random former guests.

Thoughts? Stay/go/make a bigger deal out of it?