Banal Series # 14, Hotel Lobbies

Hotel lobbies, like much of the fare associated with hotels and travel, denote waiting. The lobby, in this instance, is mutely decorated to feel familiar. To feel as is the traveler has been here before. Ah yes, at some opaque time in the past, he has strewn shoulder bags on the chest high counter, and signed papers. A quick glance at the fabricated living room set quells his nerves. The fountain, flanked by artificial plants further soothes the frazzled guest.

He can see a freestanding placard, in front of an open door to the left, telling him of a hotel restaurant. “Please wait to be seated,” the sign says. He will wait. And while he’s at it, he might waft down to the hotel bar. Have a drink, and a laugh. Maybe strike up a conversation with a local, or a fellow traveler. Make a friendship, which, garbled through the hyperbole of alcohol, will seem timeless, and to be understood as permanent. Napkins may be written upon. A sporting event may or may not flicker banally overhead.

The desk of the lobby frames his transit from restaurant to bar, and back to room. He might ponder having a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs splayed around the gargantuan coffee table. Take off his Florsheims. Read a James Patterson novel. This thought is momentary, and fleeting, and inherent to the design of the hotel lobby.