8/21/11

Wow. Over 2 weeks since I've blogged. And so many people, so many events, and so much work at such a busy store. Just looked at my photos from the last 2 weeks, which are literally just snap shots of unbelievably busy days filled with moment after moment with no transition time inbetween. Customer after customer, discussions with employees, sandwich after sandwich, family visits, time with the boys, time with Jackie, time with myself (well that doesn't really exist), time with Stan, from one moment to the next. The store would slow down for a second, I would try to catch up with my work, then there would be another customer rush, or a phone call, I would try to go check on Stan, try to ignore the store for 15 minutes and get him outside, or get him to walk over to the store, or spend time with him and whoever was visiting... Uncle Sidney and Jan, brother Harold and his entire family, Aunt Joan, cousin Lynn and her son Nathan, one after the other. The day Aunt Joan arrived, was the day before Harold and Cyndy, Matt and Alyssa left. Matt and Alyssa went rafting with Andrew, Micah and Howie. Harold and Cyndy took dad to see his neurologist in town. Jackie and I worked all day in a very very busy store and that was the day Jackie realized that she had worked 45 days straight in the deli. Really. I think I have had maybe 3 days off since early June... And that night we had everyone over to our house for dinner. After working all morning and afternoon, saying hello to our new arrivals, gathering everyone up and sending them to our house, getting home just in time to whip out a very nice dinner, grilled salmon, rice, salad, and fresh mango salsa... plus teriyaki chicken and wine and conversation and hellos and goodbyes and and and....

We did take 2 days away from the store this past week to take Andrew to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Tomorrow is his first day of classes. Howie, Jackie and I drove Andrew on Thursday morning to Salt Lake City, pulled up to his dorm room around 4 pm, loaded up his stuff into a few carts and wheeled his stuff to his new home, met his roommate, and his suite mates, helped him get set up, took him out to dinner, then dropped him back off at his dorm room for his first night at the U. In the morning we met him on campus, bought him his one textbook, then took him to Target for some stuff for his room and then out to lunch. At about 4 pm we dropped him off and headed home to Big Sky. He was so ready for us to leave. In the meantime since we've been back home Howie has taken over Andrew's room and Micah has started to redecorate his room. And we have not yet heard a peep from Andrew.

We got back very late Friday night after stopping to pick up Micah at a friend's house on Hebgen Lake where he had spent the last 2 days, wake boarding, sleeping on a boat and just having a blast with his free ride ski buddies. Saturday morning we went into the store and the store was still busy and we worked and worked and tried to visit with Aunt Joan and cousins Lynn and Nathan on their last day in Big Sky, plus there was a memorial event for Walking Jim Stoltz in the town center park that we set up a booth which Micah ended up running.... Plus we ended up having a farewell dinnner with everybody at La Luna. Plus Stan was feeling pretty much under the weather with his IBS taking control of him, no energy, always frowning, but we did get him to come out to dinner. It's hard for to explain the one thing after the other, with no time in between, the just going from working at the store at which I am constantly multi-tasking and moving from one thing to another, then interacting with my kids, or my wife, or my father, or our dog Buddy, and then back at the store and then we had all these visitors....

Tonight, I cooked up a steak stir fry and Jackie and I, Micah and Howie, and Howie's friend Jackson sat at the dinner table in our own house and had a quiet home cooked meal. Wow. Usually the way I show the craziness of my life is to write a detailed blow by blow of my day. I did that recently in poetry form a few blogs ago. Now it's time to try to kick back and relax, but then I started to write this blog and download all these pictures, but as we look at the store schedule there are way too many holes. We need new people! Anybody looking for a job out there???

Here are some photos and captions...

Harold, Cyndy, Matthew, Alyssa, Howie, Buddy and I hiked Ousel Falls on the day they arrived. Somehow I just left the store and hiked with everyone.

Harold and I at Ousel Falls. Howie missed the falls in the background...

Everyone at the falls...

Dinner at our house,
Tracy, Brody and I at the Moose...a very happy pause at work...

Andrew catches a little fish...
my three sons...
Howie being Howie at the China Cafe with his brothers and cousins.

Stan just loving Cold Hard Cash Concert at Town Center. This is music by a guy from Great Falls, Montana who basically channels Johnny Cash, looks like him sounds like him, and Stan truly just loves him. He saw him last year and was so looking forward to this year's repeat concert. He sat there, clapping his hands and singing along to every word!

John and I at the concert, full moon. I blame John for all our success.
Full moon rising over Ramshorn, Harold and Cyndy's last night and Aunt Joan's arrival night.

The next day, Jackie and I miraculously left the store at around 2:30 and went on a hike with Lynnie and Nathan up to Beehive Basin....

I caught 6 beautiful cutthroat at Beehive Basin Lake, they were just slurping up the flies...
Can you see Nathan and Lynnie hiking across the rocks? Yes, that is snow in August!



Micah pointing out to his mother where he would like to ski!




The next day, Sunday, we actually got out of the store again at about 2:30 and took Lynnie and Nathan, Howie and Micah to jump off the green bridge and then to hike up to Lava Lake.

And then on Thursday, August 18th we left Big Sky with Andrew and Howie to take Andrew to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City as he embarks on his college career. Here he is as we drive off saying goodbye to Margy...
Margy took a photo of us and the packed Honda...
Unloading at the U
Andrew unpacking and setting up his dorm room as Howie checks out Andrew's bed.
Joan and Stan just before Joan left today...


The goodbye photo...

Uncle Sidney and Jan left today. They had an awesome time here in Big Sky and Stan enjoyed having them around.

Stan, Sidney and I went to the 1st Professional Bull Riding Rodeo in Big Sky. Stan and Sid sat in the front and chatted away as the bulls bucked the cowboys off their backs...

All in all it was a great week of hearing stories. Sidney told us a story about his father and my mother's father - they were business partners in the bakery starting in 1944. Grandpa B and Mr. K used to frequent the Boulevard Nightclub in Queens. The owner asked them to drive up to Harlem and get Cab Calloway who was going to perform that night. So they drove up and picked him up. When Cab Calloway walked to the car he told Mr. K to get in the back seat.

Mr K. was not the type to take orders from anyone, but he listened to Cab Calloway who told him when I'm in a car I drive! And so he did and Mr. K. and Grandpa B. held on for dear life in the back seat.

It was wonderful to have Uncle Sidney who Dad calls Jonesy (Kryshka was too difficult to remember for his superiors in the marines so they nicknamed him Jonesy). He loves telling stories, I just need to remember them. He told one about being in the Marines and that your bed had to be made so tightly that a coin would bounce and they would come around and check your bed. Then he told a story about all the guys in his bunk going to sleep before lights out, instead of staying up and polishing their weapons so one night the seargent came in and woke them all up at 2 in the morning and ran them outside and had them do calisthenics on the gravel for over an hour. He said no one went to bed before 10 again.

Stan told me he had some nice conversations with Jonesy while he was here. For some reason Dad thought he borrowed $500 from Uncle Sidney years and years ago to pay off a gambling debt, but Sid had no memory of that and told Dad it must have been someone else. Dad told me one time when he was working at Roosevelt Raceway, Uncle Sidney came down to hang out and they went in on some bets together. They ended up winning a 5-1 double that paid over $400. Dad asked Sidney how did you come up with that longshot and Sid told him, I was sitting in row 5, seat 1 so that's what I played.

Here's Sidney telling a story about working retail...