Room at the Inn

Every time my wife Carla checks into a hotel she invariably refuses the first room she's shown. I'm always slightly abashed, but I have to admit it works. Hotels routinely give away the worst rooms first and save the best for last, on the theory that there will always be guests like Carla who'll complain. It reminds me of the old joke about the man who tried checking into a hotel and was told they were all booked. "Would you have a room for the president if he showed up unexpectedly?" the man asked. "For the president, of course," the desk clerk replied. "Well, he's not coming," said the man, so you can give me his room."