Oh dear, this one is hard to write. This trip has kicked my butt every since I got here. Unrest till the bitter end. It only lets up when I stepped on the airplane to leave.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. When I woke up, the fact that I am leaving hit me. No amount of creative financing on my part will let me stay at least one more day. I’m doomed. So I commence packing. OMG, I have a lot more than I started with! So I sit on the floor with a pile of everything that is mine surrounding me and my suitcase. This is an activity that I do not relish! Somehow, with great concentration and effort, I get everything in. I even loaded up my computer/camera bag with as much as I could!
Okay, good. There it is … and as I turn around, I see my new perfume (in purple tissue paper) (my winnings for the Salem photo contest I might add) sitting there on the nightstand. 
Oh well, I’ll just put it in my purse. I want to use it after I shower anyway. I leave the rest of my Hurricane Sandy supplies for the maids.
So I shower, spritz and dress and make my bumbling way down to the front desk to pay. Turns out … remember when I told them NOT to charge it to the Credit Card on file (which belonged to my good friend)? “Charge it to my Debit Card, pweeze!” So they give me a ridiculously low bill to pay. I look up confused expecting the bill to be much higher. And the lady says, “Oh, when you checked out Sunday (to go to the airport), we charged the bill to the Credit Card on file. When you returned that same day and checked back in, well, we opened it again with the same Credit Card (smiling).” So there it is. They charged the WHOLE BILL to my friend’s Credit Card! That is not what I wanted to happen! I promised my friend that that would not happen! But there it is. Another dark cloud over this trip.
So my ride arrives and believe it or not, the ride was uneventful all the way to the airport! I can’t believe it! Hoping that I will end this trip on a peaceful note, I go into the airport. Hmmm, line’s not too long, not like the other day at least. I check in, pay my baggage check fee (highway robbery) and head on over to Security.
I begin to move through Security but as I get my computer bag and purse and shoes up on the conveyor, I hear the guard say, “No liquids over 3 ounces. No liquids over 3 ounces.” I stop in my tracks and think, “My perfume?” I reach into my purse to look at my perfume. It’s 4 ounces. I say to the lady, “But my perfume is 4 ounces.” She coldly replies, “Sorry ma’am, you will have to throw it away.” I stare at her all wide-eyed with disbelief. “But I can’t throw it away.” “You can’t take anything over 3 ounces aboard the plane, ma’am, now move along,” she retorts. I think she is enjoying this. I again try, “But I can’t believe you won’t let me. It’s just an ounce for cripes sake.” She offers, “Do you have a friend here that can come get it?” “No, no friends, here or anywhere for that matter.” “Well, you can go back and check it,” she tries. I look down at my perfume in my hands as she interjects, “Ma’am, you will have to move along. You are holding up the line.” By this time, I’m in tears and all of these people in line are watching …. even enjoying … the whole fucking ordeal. I look at the guard while holding my perfume as she says once again, “The trash can is right there.” I turn and look and with my heart completely broken, I walk over to the trash can and drop my perfume in purple tissue paper, my winnings from the Salem photo contest, into the trash can. That is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Those fucking certificates laid around my room for fucking 2 years! For 2 years I had to keep tabs on those certificates so I would be sure not to lose them. I so looked forward to coming to Salem to spend them. And now this. If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would end up having to throw my winnings away, I would have been shocked and dismayed.
So I move on enduring the rest of the hoops that Security makes you jump through. I then sit down to put on my shoes and arrange my bag. I am really trying not to cry. I see tears dropping on my shoes as I put them on. I am so damn mad. I haven’t been this mad in a very long time. And then, as I sit there fussing with this and that all the while seeing my tears drop on my shoes and bag, I hear the Security lady saying something over my head, “I’m really sorry about that.” I don’t even look up. I don’t want her to see I’m crying and wishing more than anything to close my hands around her throat and …. she moves on. “Good decision because you got one pissed off bitch here entertaining the idea of your demise.” Somehow an apology doesn’t make it better.
I understand it was my fault out of my own ignorance. This is one of the downfalls of traveling alone. There is no one there to watch over you and tell you your mistakes. I did know there was a restriction on liquids but it had completely slipped my mind. Well, I guess someone out there got a nice bottle of perfume wrapped in purple tissue paper. You can’t tell me that they don’t go through those trash cans and pull out the good stuff. Yup, someone out there got my winnings for the Salem photo contest. I got nothing.
Now as I move on to find somewhere to sit, I am inconsolable. I sit there and cry in front of God and everybody right there in the Boston airport. I don’t care who sees me cry. I just cry. My heart is broken. That photo contest was the one thing I did good in my life. It wasn’t first place because that’s the story of my life but it was a good 2nd place out of about 1,000 photographers. And the postcard … the postcard for God’s sake! All gone and I notice this one lady across the way really watching me intently. I met her eyes 2 or 3 times and I’m thinking that maybe she will come over and comfort me is some way. But no, that’s ridiculous to think, she just sits there and stares at me.
As I cry, I decide to call Jason. I am completely shattered and my voice is broken as I cry. When I hear his voice, I cry even harder. Do you do that? Well, I do. It’s hard to speak. He immediately freaks upon hearing me. He thinks something horrific happened to me … and something did! But when I tell him I had to throw my perfume away at Security, I can hear the relief in his voice and he laughs incredulously and says, “Your perfume? This is about your perfume?” I can barely talk but I try to explain it to him. It’s the principle of the matter. The perfume was the winnings from something I was very proud of myself for – the Salem photo contest! So Jason says, “Okay, I’ll buy you another one.” And somehow that makes me feel a bit better. I tell him, “No, I’ll buy it.” I realize I’ll have to live with yet another disaster on this trip for the rest of my life.
Finally, it is time to board the airplane. As I enter the jet-way, I feel relief and I’m glad to be out of there. No tearing myself away now. I can’t get away fast enough! I count every minute of that flight and I am the first to stand up when the airplane stops. Get me the fuck out of here!
As I sit and wait for my ride home from the airport, I go over the trip in my mind. I see that I never should have gone on this trip. I should have stayed home. I realize that all of it was my fault. The whole trip was my failure to know all the things that I should and to prepare and use good judgment. Really? Me? Ha!
Love you all,
Janet
Afterthoughts – Strange thing this. My very first day in Salem 2009 concerned an experience with fragrance and the very last chapter on the last day I stayed in Salem yet again concerned my experience with fragrance. Don’t know if this really means a thing or is some weird cycle in my life. Oh well, I guess I’ll know after I die.
And they quit making that particular perfume, I can’t find it anywhere now. It figures…..
…….. and I waited 3 hours for my ride to pick me up at the Airport. Geeezzzz, is there an end to this madness?
Nope, I guess not! A dog chewed up my beautiful witch’s hat. I’m done!
See you later, spookies!
You can just sit back and let me entertain you! Here’s the link in Transylvania: http://halloweensunseen.com if you need it but you can access it by clicking on the orange or blue links right here in this post. That’s the ticket! You can start there on the first page and read my entries for my essays and then bop on down to the middle of the page for the links. You can also look for the little “next” buttons on each page and just drive around the whole site. It’s really more fun that way because you won’t miss a thing. It’s a big old trip so hop on my broom with me and let’s take a ride! Oh and mustn’t forget, turn up the sound! The music and sound effects are a very important part of each page!
And it dawns another new day in Salem, Massachusetts. The day before Halloween and all seems to be well. As I look out the window, everything is unchanged although that bright sunlight is clearly not necessary. I shield my eyes and walk away from that window. It looks like the tail-end of the storm out there. The sun is trying to break through the clouds. At this point I feel like Bela Lugosi throwing his arm up to shield his eyes to protect himself from either the sun or a crucifix. It just dawned on me that I don’t think I’ve ever actually written the word “crucifix.” Hmm, idle minds, busy fingers . . . oh hell, I don’t know.
Very nice to be walking outside today. I don’t see any storm damage at all. The beautiful Friendship is right where she was and looks simply splendid. This shot here, well, I’ve literally seen hundreds of these. For photographers this building is perfectly placed for beautiful photos. Perfect angles, rule of thirds! And here’s one of mine! On second thought, there does seem to be some new wood on this building. Damage indeed? Oh and here, this lady told me to take a picture of her dog. She didn’t ask me, she told me. “Here, take a picture of my dog.” Alrighty.
He gives me this, “if I smile, my face will crack” sort of look as I gently lay my treasures before him. I am now full on staring at him, looking for some sign of life and look … yes, there it is! A full on bona fide glance up in my direction! Oh, I feel so special, so, so lucky! He rings me up in silence and then actually tells me how much I owe him. And, and could it be? A shadow of a smile plays across his mouth. Oh, I just shiver all over at this . . . and hand him a bill or two. He makes my change, places my treasures in a little Halloween bag and almost, what? He, yes, I can almost see it! And with great effort put forth, the man mumbles, “Thank you,” with just the touch of a smile again playing around his lips. And that’s it. That’s all I get. I can actually see the curtain close across his eyes. I’m so out of here, after-life kid!
I look up to see where the cash register is. I don’t see it. I can’t see out of the aisle I’m in so I step over into what looks like the main aisle and I still don’t see it. I only see the door leading out. I figure I’ll find it soon enough and I continue to marvel at the actual condition of this place. It’s really filthy in here and suddenly this odor assails me. I noticed it when I entered. I figured it would just go away like all good odors do but this one? No dice. It’s not going anywhere. It’s staying right here and it’s getting bigger. I mean bigger, bigger and bigger. Not sure I can take this but I continue on looking at book titles stacked all the way to the ceiling, way over my head. There’s a few pathetic paper signs hanging here and there telling subjects and such but what a pitiful effort it is indeed. And now whilst dealing with all this, I suddenly hear very loudly a “Jesus-freak” outside on the Mall with his bullhorn full-on telling me that I’m going to fry if I don’t accept Jesus as my Savior. Oh must I deal with this too right here, right now? How much more can I take at this moment? This guy’s horn sounds like he’s standing right in the doorway of this freaky-ass bookstore! I retreat back more toward the back of the store and put a few thousand books between me and the religious, yelling man outside. I look for the proprietor of this place to see his reaction to the unrest but this dude is old, I mean very old. Not much help there! So I continue to fall back more toward the back of the store to get away from that horrid noise! But then, now the odor has become a full-on stench! There’s a back room back there and the stench is very strong the closer you get to it. At this point, I look down and to my surprise (hee!), the floor looks like it hasn’t been swept in probably 30 years or so. Lots and lots of dust-bunnies but not your normal dust-bunnies these! No, no, no, no, no! These are full-grown little evil looking sons-of-bitches. These are not cute! They’re full grown and looking for some ass to kick. Yup, and do you want to know another little unpleasantry about dust-bunnies? Well, do you know what dust-bunnies really are? They are not dust, they are human skin! We shed our skin and it collects into dust-bunnies! Truth! But now, as I draw near to the mysterious back room, I stop dead in my tracks. The stench, the stench has now become so strong! Let me tell you about how it smells. Ok kiddies? It smells like must, yes, there’s that. Must, must, musty old must. 80-year old must, coupled with just pure on, hell ya, stinky, stanky ass smell! Ass that has not been washed in, well, ever. Let me say, it just ass stinks. Mixed with musty, must and it’s strong! As I really hope it’s not coming from their bathroom, I shrink away, moving back toward the front. Whoops, wrong turn but I found where you check out, I think. It’s this tiny opening in stacks and stacks of ceiling-high books. Just a small slit of an opening. You peek through it to see the clerk taking your money but you can’t see him because the slit is so thin. You just have enough room to shove your money through and wait for your change and receipt to be shoved back at you. Now I only observe this because I did not buy anything in the store. Try though as I may, I never saw a single book I wanted. I didn’t want to ask for a book that was tied down up in the stacks. I figured it’s just too much bother, too much trouble. And the stench, well, I just have to go. I am the hell out of here. I wave and wink at the Jesus-freak as I go by. Ah, hell, I don’t know why. I’m sure he gets tired of people hating on him just like he hates on people. Somehow that 80s song “Round and Round” by Ratt comes to mind. “Round and round, what comes around goes around, I’ll tell you why, dig . . . .” Okay out, thank the Lord that sits atop this madhouse, I’m out.
On to the wine-tasting . . . and I missed it by a few minutes but the girl is still there and tells me about the wine that she’s pedaling of which I might add, is still sitting right in front of her … still open. Now you’d think she would have snuck a thimble-full to me but no, nada, nothing. I browse around for awhile but damn it I wanted that little taste of wine. I wanted it bad. Funny, I don’t even hardly drink but I guess my ego still wants it. I mustn’t ever be told no, I can’t have something because you can bet your sweet ass that I will want it! So I buy a bottle of wine for myself. So there, see?
Okay, tomorrow is Halloween and what a Halloween treat is this house! It’s actually quite hard to believe that I’m in Salem, Mass, the Halloween capital of the world! But there it is and I suppose I should get some rest this evening. I’ve walked a lot today, as always in Salem. That’s half the fun, right? I go to the cemetery to hug my tree and tell it good night. I love my tree.
I talked straight away with Jason. He’s still very perturbed with me and is absolutely convinced that this day will be my last on this planet. Silly goose, I ain’t going nowhere. I attempt to calm him, after all, I am immortal, right? Being a witch, I will simply grab my broom and ride above the super storm until it abates and then, I will land gently back down on the blessed earth and continue on my blissful way here in Salem. Right? Well, Jason is not convinced knowing that I would never be able to get my fat ass off the ground. Broom or no broom, this ass ain’t going nowhere. I then assure Jason that nothing will be amiss as this day goes forward. I am sure of it. I then call my bestie, Dash, and leave an assuring message and now I will be on my way.
No one will look at me. No one will acknowledge my presence. I try to meet someone’s eyes and they seem to be looking at a spot in the middle of my forehead. They look but they aren’t looking at me like meeting my eyes. Still no one comes forward to wait on me. Odd. I know I’m not invisible, at least not yet! This goes on for some minutes and by now I’m feeling uncomfortable. I look around and the restaurant is pretty much empty. Now that’s a clue. There is a couple of people over there eating and talking with their waitress about being stranded in Salem. Well, good gawd almighty, I’m stranded here too . . . and being totally ignored at Red’s? At Red’s? As I’m sure you must surmise by now, I have had this same experience before on this crazy trip. So, finally one good-hearted lady comes over to me and moves me over to her section and my every wish is her desire. Bless her heart. She is so nice to me. She knows what all those bitches are doing to me. It is now a game to me so I try several times to catch the eyes of the Cashier and she just won’t do it. She knows I’m trying to catch her eyes but the silly bitch absolutely refuses! Fire the bitch! I don’t know why I’m surprised at this turn of events. My personal waitress brings everything I want and need, even fussing over me and making sure my leftovers are wrapped up nice and snug. She tells me that I might need it later when the storm rolls in. Oh how I love the sound of that. I’m so excited! She pats me and sends me on my merry way and she got one hell of a big tip from me! And no, in case you are wondering, the Cashier never looked at me. Even while taking my money, not one glimpse. Crazy, silly bitch. People like me pay your fucking salary! Not a very bright bitch indeed….
Okay, get real. Here I am, utterly alone, 1,600 miles from home. Do you know how far that is? I’m almost in Canada and I live in Texas on the Gulf Coast! That’s one hell of a long way! And I got this monster storm on its way. I should be scared. And somewhere inside me, I am scared as hell! But I don’t own it. If I did, I would lose my mind. Don’t you just love these predicaments I get myself into? Makes me feel like Lucy! But really, look at that storm. This is what Jason is freaking out over. It does look like I’m under the thick middle of it up here doesn’t it? Yup, I’m right under the thick middle of it.
So now I make my way on over to CVS. This CVS has been my safe haven many times during my past trips to Salem. I remember one Halloween here in Salem, I was so friggin’ cold that I stepped into CVS just to get warm. I wasn’t staying in Salem at the time and I had nowhere to get warm. I walked around and acted like I was shopping. Oh the warmth felt so good, like a warm blankie being wrapped around me. Anyway, I go on in and pick up a few more things. The employees are complaining because they can’t leave early because of the storm and all. And the mystery of why I was treated so badly at Red’s is solved. They were trying to leave! If they didn’t want any customers in there, why didn’t they just lock the door? They close at 3:00 pm anyway! They were just being bad ass bitches. Not a very nice way to treat people that are stranded in their city a long way from home with no where to go.
Oh dear, I’m not acting right. Why is the Weather Channel suddenly pissing me off? I believe it’s called an absence of activity . . . for me. I mean like now I’m realizing that there’s not much for me to do but wait on the storm. Oh well, I guess I’ll busy myself and watch the water in the toilet slosh back and forth. Huh? Watch the water in the toilet slosh back and forth? What? So now I can only assume that this building is swaying back and forth. Right? Swaying with the wind, right? I’m getting a little anxious here. I look out the window. It’s starting to get dark. Yes, it is raining and I suppose there’s some wind out there. There’s something over there next to a light pole that’s loose and swaying and clanging. Or is it the light pole itself swaying back and forth and clanging with every move? I really can’t tell but the sound is awful and annoying. Ok, yes, it’s raining pretty hard out there and it’s very windy. The conditions are failing pretty rapidly. There are a few cars that I can see but not a soul one. My window is facing the Salem electric plant and the Harbour. You can just see the mastheads of the Friendship and the unsettled water. It’s looking kind of creepy out there and you can see the white caps being blown up on the water.
So here I am engrossed in the movie, feeling warm from the wine and I watch intently as the lights begin to flicker. Huh? The lights? Ok, now I didn’t figure that into the equation. My mind races forward. Ok, no electricity. Did I write this into the story? No, I most certainly did not. I never even thought to buy a candle until now. Gawd, I know better! If these lights go out, it will be pitch black in here. *Looking this way and that* Jason? Dash? Hmmmmm. I suddenly feel better about the Hotel staff being down there. At least I’m not alone. I’m sure they’ve been through this type of thing many times. Oh how I hate being happy that the asshole is probably down there and worse, I may need his help. Just goes to show, you’ve got to be careful how you treat people because you might need them someday. I may need him. What a wicked thing to ponder. I go over and stand by the window looking out. The street lights are on. That’s a good sign. It’s raining hard and the wind is pretty heavy. The rain is coming down in sheets. It’s not like the Hawthorne where you can hear the wind in the eaves. Surprisingly, you can’t hear a thing from outside. This building is pretty sturdy. So to avoid having to be concerned about the lights going out, I will just go to bed. Pitch all the pillows to the floor and grab my little flat one . . . the vampire is at rest. Nighty night freakies!
Maybe I am a bit nervous. I sit down and send a text to my best friend, Dash Beardsley. Yup, that’s the Ghostman of Galveston for all you kindred spirits such as we. And, of course, I include his lovely girlfriend, Tamara. She’s a bit skeptical about the ghost thing. She definitely is a lot less crazy than we are what with all the spirits Dash and I see and speak to. And I, of course, have been known to take a pretty convincing ghost photo or two, as has Jason. And I have had orbs follow me around at Dash’s ghost hunts at Ashton Villa in Galveston. All just in a day’s work as they say. I’ll have to add some of my ghostly lore here in my blog. Maybe even interview the Ghostman when the season is upon us. Yes, we do have such fun! Are you scared of ghosts? Well, we the hell are not!
I now call Jason and he’s resigned to my plight. He tells me NOT to leave the hotel and I say, ok, I promise. I hang up the phone and promptly go out and have dinner at the Hawthorne Hotel. Great food, warm cozy place and I snap a few photos of their pumpkins. I linger and have a couple of cocktails at the bar. This is a lovely, old hotel. When it storms and you are here in the Hawthorne, the wind whistles through the ancient eaves of the windows. With its old Victorian design and stormy sounds, well, I could not feel more at home and happy. The hotel is decked out in its Halloween trappings making the visuals perfectly complete. I am one happy girl at this juncture but try though as I may, I can’t seem to find one single orange feather here. Since my first trip here and my experiences in the hotel, well, I will always look for orange feathers at the Hawthorne Hotel. I liken it to looking for beads in New Orleans! Oh yes! For those of you who do not remember or have neglected your duty to read this blog backwards and forwards, the Hawthorne Hotel IS haunted. Yup, I had an experience right here in this wonderful hotel!
Oh my gawd, how I do run on! I almost forgot, it’s the beginning of Halloween week but first we’ve got to weather this storm. Frankenstorm!
Okay, today is the day! Tonight is the showing of Hocus Pocus in Salem Common! I’ve been so looking forward to this. I know, I’m such a dork! GROW UP! HELL NO!! I never want to be a grown up!! Never!! This is going to be cool. There are parts of the movie that were filmed in Salem Common and I’ll be watching the movie in Salem Common. Of all the times I’ve seen that movie, I never dreamed I’d be watching it right where it was filmed. I always wondered why I was so drawn to that movie. I watched it over and over through the years. Now I know why. It’s the crazy city of Salem and God only knows why it’s so important to me.
So, it’s cold. I’m waiting, even bored because I already ate my popcorn. People are showing up and I pull up a leaf and sit on the ground. It’s sort of wet. Alright already, stick the DVD in, man. And there it goes. I sit enrapt. The most enjoyable thing really was listening to the kids comment on what they are seeing on the screen is all around us. One kid stood up pointing at the screen saying, “We are there!” They were loving it and I did too. As I said, it doesn’t take much to make me happy!
Okay, shit, guess I’ll do that. I stay long enough to eat then I head back to my room all dejected and shit. Guess I’m cutting this trip short. And I now think of Sir Tight Ass at the hotel wanting all that money from me and I’m only staying 2 nights! I didn’t even get to see the Witch House! I didn’t get to tour the Salem Witch Museum again and Count Orlok’s! Dang, Count Orlok’s for shit’s sake! I haven’t even spent my gift certificates that I got for winning that photo contest here in Salem! Bloody hell! I wanted to ride the trolley, do a ghost cruise, maybe ride the ferry to Boston! It all passes away right in front of my eyes. The whole trip …. gone.
I enter the hotel and I think this place is jinxed, unlucky, a proverbial black cloud overhead. Doom and Gloom Hotel, Salem, Mass. Every time I walk in here I have bad luck. My last time here was the shits and flat tires. Geeez. Every time, the shit begins to fly (literally). I get comfy again in my room and plant myself in front of my computer with the Weather Channel tuned in on the TV. Hmmmm, looks like rain. Assholes placed strategically around the East Coast with NO weather happening behind them. What the hell? I jump into United and change my flight from next Friday to this Sunday. Bloody Hell! They charge me $70.00. I know, Bloody Hell!! Anyway, done. The only thing to do now is to wait for tomorrow and go home. I call Jason and tell him I’m coming home tomorrow and the time. I guess now he can rest and stop being completely at his wit’s end with me. He doesn’t like it when I come up here not one bit and now Frankenstorm has got him at his complete limit with me.
So now I go to bed. Damn, it seems like such a long time ago when I saw Hocus Pocus. Party’s over, trip is done.
My Salem Happenings 