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The Previous Owners Chime In

Dear Ms. Swift,
 

We hope you’ll indulge a pair of retired innkeepers who’ve traded in their ledgers and late-night plumbing calls for crossword puzzles and hummingbirds. We’re writing in support of a recommendation you may have received about writing a song inspired by Robert Hines and the Family Inn of Casa Griago, Arizona.
 

We were the previous owners of the Family Inn. For many years, we ran it as best we could, with the resources we had and the guests who came. It wasn’t exactly a postcard operation—truth be told, it had become the kind of place where folks tended to pay in cash and appreciated the absence of questions…and security cameras. By the time we passed the keys to Robert, the paint was peeling, the pipes were wheezing, and the reputation was—well, let’s just say "colorful."
 

We knew Robert didn’t have much money, but he had something even rarer: conviction, patience, and a stubborn belief that a rundown roadside motel could become a place of dignity and second chances. And he’s done it. Slowly, painstakingly, with more elbow grease than most people pour into a lifetime, he turned it around.
 

But what makes Robert special isn’t just that the rooms got nicer. It’s that the people did, too. He found ways to treat longtime guests with compassion instead of contempt. He encouraged couples to try therapy, not just the same tired cycle. He swapped out cheap booze for organic juice during his newly christened “Happy Family Hour,” a change we would’ve found baffling once—and now find kind of beautiful.
We couldn’t be prouder of what he’s done with the place. He took something with a messy past and gave it a hopeful future. And, more than once, he’s told us that your music helped him through the long, lonely parts of that journey.
 

We may be old-fashioned, but we believe a good song can help people see the world a little differently. And Robert’s story is the kind of quiet, gritty redemption that deserves to be heard. If you ever find yourself in Arizona with a notebook and a little curiosity, we’d love for you to see it for yourself—or at least to imagine it through a song.
 

With warmth and admiration,
 

Nancy and Harold Fields
Former owners, Family Inn of Casa Griago
Now enjoying a well-earned retirement in Sedona

REMINDER: The story of this blog is entirely fictional and has been generated by ChatGPT. All individuals--other than Taylor--are entirely fictional as are businesses, organizations, and events portrayed. 

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