Final report on my recent RV trip to the Southwest.
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Mansfield, Louisiana
Half the trip from Georgia to Arizona is crossing Texas, which takes a good two days. On April 5, returning eastbound, I finally left Texas behind and stopped for the night in Mansfield, a forgettable little town in the middle of Louisiana. As usual, no campgrounds were nearby, but Mansfield had a Super 8.
Super 8 is owned by Wyndham now, so the chain is a bit nicer these days. The place actually was clean and comfortable.
After a decent supper at a Chinese place across the street, I retired to my room to watch a DVD movie on my laptop.
At some point, I opened the nightstand drawer and took out the phone book, the idea being to find a map and get oriented.
As I flipped through the pages of the phone book, a small piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. The notepad-size sheet had a Super 8 logo at the top and was covered with writing in longhand. I picked it up and read it.
It was a heart-breaking message written by someone in great emotional distress. And it was dated five years ago. Chances are, it had remained undetected in the phone book until I found it.
This is what the person wrote:
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Tuesday
July 25, 2016
The Pain???????
Why do I always get hurt. I try and try to do my best. People just [want] me to do things for them
Lord I’m tired I cant keep Putting myself Down like dis Im hurting and hurting I feel like Im going to hurt myself if I Dont get sum help.
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The slang usage — “like dis” and “get sum help” — suggests that the writer was young. The rest is a mystery.
The incident was especially distressing because, frankly, I can’t relate to inner pain and turmoil on this scale.
The fact is, I’ve been fortunate. I’m a stable, grounded person. Life is good. Other than being in my waning years and having to put up with arthritis and other annoyances, I have no real complaints.
Not so for the anonymous note-writer who stayed in room 104 of the Mansfield Super 8 in 2016.
I hope he or she is in a better place today.
Mr. Write's Page 
Great, yet sad, find! I would say the handwriting is definitely female.