Waiting for the Unknown

Martin Harrison had operated his little Inn for over twenty years. Over the years he had enjoyed much success, that was until the new Interstate was built that bypassed the small his small town. He had already witnessed a couple of businesses close shop and had close friends move to the city in search of work. Mr. Harrison had no idea what he was going to do if he had to close his Inn which had been in his family for generations. As Mr. Harrison sat pondering what his future would be, he heard the front door open. He watched as the first visitor he had seen in weeks walked in. The gentleman that entered was dressed very fancily which caused Mr. Harrison to guess that he was lost and looking for directions.

As the gentleman approached

the counter Mr. Harrison asked, "May I help you?"

The Gentleman smiled. "My name is Donald Martin. I am a movie producer who made a wrong turn and wound up here, wherever here is."

"Where are you trying to get to," asked Mr. Harrison. "I am not great at giving directions, but I will help if I can."

"I was traveling to the

city to look for a spot to shoot our new television series. From the looks of things, I think this wrong turn may have been fate as I love the look of this Inn. The look fits my story well. Would you consider leasing part of your Inn for the next five years?"

Mr. Harrison could not

believe what he was hearing. A wrong turn had just resulted in the opportunity to not only save his Inn but also to put their small town on the map.  “How many of the rooms are you wanting to

lease Mr. Martin?  There are forty rooms in the main part and another twenty in the newer addition to the left of us.”

Mr. Martin sat quietly for a few seconds. “I think that we are going to be able to help each other out here. I am willing to not only pay full price for the forty rooms here, but also an additional five thousand dollars per month to have full access to the main part of the Inn. Being the oldest part, this will be the main area for the series. The other twenty rooms should rent out quickly when it gets out that there is a television series being shot here. In addition to that, before we start shooting, we will have a kitchen and dining area added to the smaller building so that it will be full service. We will both have our specific areas of operation.”

Mr. Harrison was having difficulty hiding the excitement that was building up inside of him. His prayers had just been answered in a most unexpected way. “I agree with your proposal Mr. Martin. This has been an answer to payers. You may have saved more than just my little Inn. The whole town will benefit from this.”

“Yes, it will,” said Mr. Martin. “This town will be on the map and will enjoy the benefits of this arrangement long after we have finished and moved on. I will make sure that there are opportunities for patrons of the Inn to receive autographs and an occasional dinner with some of the actors and actresses. Most of the people who will be in this series are very friendly and enjoy interacting with their fans.”

“When will this agreement begin Mr. Martin? Will I need to start advertising, or will this be something that you will be over while you are shooting here?”

“All of the advertising will be handled by our advertising group. As far as the agreement, it begins the first of the month. I will have crews here to ready the other Inn and have it fully operational at least the week before we start shooting. You can feel free to rent out rooms until I tell you when we will begin shooting. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great Mr. Martin. I am going to let a few friends know about this and try to drum up some business for now. The townspeople will be so excited to hear that our town is not going to keep shrinking. Thank you so much.”

“You are welcome Mr. Harrison. Do not worry about marketing at all right now. I will make sure that this arrangement is in the newspapers and on television by the end of the week. People will be flocking here to catch a glimpse of famous people. I will make sure that there is at least one main character here every week to keep people drawn to coming here. I anticipate that we will begin shooting in about six months. You will know for sure within the next few weeks.” 

Mr. Harrison invited the entire town to his inn that night to let them know of the blessing that had just came upon them. He had always been taught to never lose faith, to never give up and now he knew why. Mr. Harrison felt somewhat guilty that he had let doubt and fear creep in and take root. Fear and doubt were gone, and gratefulness took their place.

When everyone had arrived and had been seated Mr. Harrison called the meeting to order. It took him over an hour to explain what had happened that day and to answer the plethora of questions that many people in the town had. The questions ranged from concerns about the type of people that would be coming to and staying in their town to questions about how they were to act around the actors and actresses. Mr. Harrison was quick to lessen the people’s concerns and to tell them that they were to do nothing other than be themselves. Mr. Harrison did not believe in pretending to be someone that you are not and did not expect anyone in the town pretend to be something they re not to appease anyone.

Now the journey begins.