Oakland Hotel

I have a long road trip tonight, so I thought I would post my Polaroid early.

I grabbed my camera this morning and walked across the one-lane bridge into Oakland. This is a side door into the old Oakland Hotel, long since boarded up. It's too bad, really, because with the right renovations it could make a cool inn or tavern, or combination of the two. But the real reason I shot this door is because in the old days, there used to be the town's only pay phone just behind it. In the summer of 1969, when I first met Tom, I nervously agreed to come visit her. I didn't know the way to her house, so I stopped here, dropped in my dime and called. Ten minutes later, she showed up in her tan VW bug, and I followed her to her house, the old place we tore down last summer. I think she was a little embarrassed that I had called her from the Oakland Hotel, but what was a guy to do? She was easily embarrassed then, but I guess not so much that she sent me on my way. I wonder if that phone is still behind this door. I'd love to know.