My father was a traveling salesman for a long time. In those days, there were quite a few  
  traveling salesmen.

They sold tools, encyclopedias, records, and even chocolate! My father sold small tools and tool boxes.

He traveled to small towns and villages in the Midwest. Sometimes, he would have to drive between towns for hundreds of miles!

He\'d show people the latest products and how they worked.
He told me that, on the whole, he was pretty successful. He loved meeting new people each day, and he enjoyed his work very much.

One time, my father entered a very small town as it was getting dark. He noticed that the town had only one street, with a few small stores.

He went into the only store with a light on to ask for directions to a hotel.
"Good evening, sir," my father began.
"Evenin\' to you!" replied the storekeeper.

"I\'m looking for a hotel."
"Well, you just found it."
"Is this a hotel? I didn\'t see any signs," asked my dad.
"Yep. We\'re the only one. Do you need a room?" "Sure."
"Come this way," said the man.

The hotel manager led the way to a small, dark room in the corner.
"Do you have anything bigger?" asked my dad.
"Nope. In fact, this is the only room we have."
"I\'ll take it then," my dad replied.

Later that evening, my dad realized that he hadn\'t had a meal all day. So he made his way back to the hotel manager.
"Do you serve dinner?" he asked.
"Yep, in the other room."
"What time?"
"Come when you like," said the hotel manager.

After my dad unpacked, he made his way to the "other room," which was supposed to be the dining room. To my father\'s surprise, the hotel manager was also the waiter!

He asked, "Will you have sausages on toast?"
"No, I never eat sausages," replied my dad.
"In that case," said the waiter, "dinner is over."

Disappointed with the choice of food in the dining room, my father skipped his meal. He returned to his room.

The next morning, my father searched for the hotel manager to pay for his stay. He looked throughout the hotel. He found the manager asleep in his bathrobe on a living room chair.

At that moment, my father realized that he wasn\'t in a hotel after all! He had spent the entire night in this stranger\'s home.