‘I had a drawer full of soap from faraway places. And each one was carried home specifically for me from my dad.’
I’ve been traveling a little bit these days. Nothing fun. Just travel. As any road warrior will tell you, time away from family and home gets very old, very fast.
My dad was a frequent business traveler. I’m not exactly sure where he went. Or what he did while away. I just knew every few weeks he’d leave the house early to catch a flight to some other city. I never really thought too much about the details of his adventures or itinerary. I only cared about one thing: that he’d return home with a present for me.
And as best as I can remember, he always did.
T-shirts? Nope. Snow globes? Naw. Pennants with the name of a professional sports team? Wrong again. Too predictable for my dad.
What he brought me was bar of soap. Travel soap. From his hotel. And I loved receiving it. It was the childhood equivalent to receiving the key to a city from the mayor. I was fascinated by the different names stamped on the wrapper. Howard Johnson, Holiday Inn, The Calgary Inn. I treated my soap like baseball trading cards. In fact, I believe I was the only kid in the neighborhood who didn’t have a cherished baseball card collection. Why would I? I had a drawer full of soap from faraway places. And each one was carried home specifically for me from my dad.
Did I care that I eventually had numerous duplicate bars of soap from the same hotel? Not a chance. Was I crushed when an occasional bar would arrive home broken or dented as it bumped around on its journey to me? Never.
I didn’t mind the aroma permeating from the special bathroom drawer I used as the sacred holding place for all the soap and I gladly ignored the teasing from my older brothers who complained about the flowery fragrance in our shared bathroom.
I simply cared that I got my bar of soap. Each trip. Each time. It was one of the many things that reminded me my dad was thinking of me.
♦◊♦
I woke up this morning in Atlanta. In an $89 motel near the airport. I hadn’t planned on staying there. But bad weather, a missed connection, and a couple other bumps created my overnight excursion to the Peachtree City. It wasn’t the best of motels. Not very clean, either. I’ll spare you the details.
But as I hurried to get ready this morning, I noticed two bars of soap stacked neatly next to the bathroom sink. Both were wrapped in a generic white paper. And both were stamped with the words “Have a Good Day!”
I did what felt natural. I put one of the bars in my briefcase to carry home and throw in my bathroom drawer.
My dad’s been gone a long time. But I still feel him. Usually it’s in the smallest things. I like what I felt this morning. It’s something every kid on this planet deserves.
The feeling of their father’s love.
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—Photo terren in Virginia/Flickr
What brand of hotel soap did Howard Johnson’s use in the 60s a d 70s. I remember loving the scent and it brings back fabulous memories.
Dude! My dad used to do the exact same thing! At one point I had a box of mini-soap bars from at least 100 different hotels. Howard Johnson, Executive Inn, Hyatt Regency. At this very moment I can imagine smelling that cheap hotel soap scent! I had a ton of matchbooks from hotels and restaurants too. Awesome post. Thanks for helping me remember!
I love this post. It makes it clear that it’s the big things are based on small ones. The soap was small, the sense of being loved is huge.