Star date: 2000 & something:
A lot of emails and messages from Lewie have been coming in and it seems he really misses skiing in Utah. Kind of got to me. I thought, heck, if he could serve a tour of duty in Iraq, I could at least cowboy up and ski a day with him. Now, let me tell you, in my `younger days, I was so bad', but it has been like 16 years since I strapped a pair of slickey boards on. After three knee operations and a bunch of other crap, it just didn't seem likely. Well, Lewie called me on my offer to ski with him. And the story begins. Star Date: December 20, 2000 & something:
Great party for Lewie getting home, his birthday and PHC Christmas party and he is still talking skiing. I'm like, shit, I will never get out of this one. So, for Christmas, I ask for ski rentals, etc. Well, now I'm getting bombarded with ski gear that is way outdated or just does not fit, from my dad and stepmom. I know they mean well, but all I really wanted for Christmas was rentals. Now I gots to figure out how to get rid of all this crap. Big Brother/Big Sister donation comes to mind. Star Date: December 28, 2000 & something:
Not too many people lining up for this event. So, hell, I'm thinking I'll get out of this one , NOT. Star Date: New Year's Eve 2000 & something:
Lewie calls me and says it looks like it's just you and me and I'll be down the valley to get you at 7:30 a.m. I think surely he must be drunk, as he knows I have to cover the store on New Year's Eve, plus hustle over to Ski & Sea to get my rentals. We are going night skiing, right? "Nope, see ya at 7:30 a.m." Military time sucks. Star Date: New Year's Day 2000 & something: Like 2009!!!
It's 6:00 a.m. and I must be dreaming. I know good and well that Lewie will be here at 7:30 a.m. sharp (and he was). No diet Coke or breakfast beers for these boys. We are cruising with Maverik coffee and heading up the hill. We get to the resort and somewhat outfitted. Well, Lewie is way outfitted and I know I'll be okay with these shortass skis and whatever. Charlotte and her gleaming grin is in the plant operation office with our passes and, hell, we are ready to go BEFORE THE LIFTS ARE OPEN. Not a problem. I tell Lewie, "we'll just take the Gondola to the summit, right"? Um, wrong. There is no Gondola anymore. My memories of the old days just got shot to hell. We used to always make sure we had a foursome to load that Gondola and fill that sucker up with ragweed peanut butter so we were ready to ski (or so we thought) by the time we hit the top. The chair lifts now hold a hell of a lot more than two people! After about 9 runs, we are gonna make the lodge and have lunch and a BEER. Made a few drunk dials shortly after. Had to call Pfister, as I had one chair ride with a family from Phoenix and two cute kids. Called Shannon, too! Oh, yeah, I also had to phone my dad and stepmom for helping me get to this point. Now we are waiting for Finman to get his ass up here. Okay, I am kind of liking this lodge stuff right by the fireplace. Cold beer and pizza are working for me. Mike shows up and hell, he has a crash test helmet, too. Am I missing something here? A little talk and a few more cold ones and we are on our way to ski away on New Year's Day! Time to show off, right? NOT. I think we did make a couple runs before I made the dirt plant. Don't really know what happened. What I do know is my face hit this well groomed run pretty hard. The Sin city Olympic hat (another story), 1980's Sun Clouds and a ski are way back there where I went down. Sure am glad Finman and another skier were there to save me. Now that would have been a phun trek to retrieve all that shit and, of course, Lewie is waiting below. I think I'll call it a day. Lewis and Mike's legs are still holding up well. Mine are not and no ride down on the Gondola that doesn't exist anymore with magical BJ laced smokes that somehow make the days end a little easier. Okay, so I am gonna ski down this whole damn mountain without a `Darth Vader' mask or helmet. Well, I have done this a few times and I will be fine. Lewie says they'll meet me at Christies. I stop by to see Charlotte's gleaming grin one more time when I hit the base. Christie's? Lewie are you drunk? It's a damn coffee shop ˆ NO BEER! Well, this horse finds the watering hole right around the corner. Okay, day done! Well, not quite. Mike is cool with giving me a ride home and dropping off the rentals. Well, get this: I am taking the ski's, poles, etc. in and no boots. Yup, they are still in Mike's car and he is gone down the road. Everything works out okay. I take good care of those Ski-n-Sea guys at the store and they took good care of me. Thanks, Mike, for returning the boots promptly!! Time to go home, Norman, time to go home. Until next time. Rhett
