Month: November 2011

Winding down into the weekend, looking forward to snow, and then not looking forward to more snow. Fall is over, so let the snow pictures begin shortly…

Being respectful of a fairly decent Fall, here’s a couple of photos that I turned into art:

I couldn’t make it to the Art Box awards event last night at MerLo. So, I’ve been scanning the local sites to see who won. It’s 2:30 in the afternoon, and nothing yet…

I just called Claire Vitucci, who did the “# 7 – Seasons of Teton Valley” art box behind Teton County Title (one of my favorites…), and she told me who won, and who placed.

So, as the first local electronic entity to announce the winners, here you go:

4 – Outhouse – Teri Furniss

8 – Folk Art Animals – Jane and Hannah Linville

3 – Birds of the Seasons – Helen Miller

7 – Seasons of Teton Valley – Claire Vitucci

5 – Swans – Julia Hibbert

Steph interviewed for the job of Office Manager, at Tolbert’s Hardwood Flooring, almost 3 years ago. The first question Kelly Tolbert asked was Do you know QuickBooks? Steph told him she has an accounting degree, and yes, she knows QuickBooks very well.

Then he said, We often need to have documents notarized… Steph said she became a Notary Public while working at the Teton Valley News.

Kelly then laughed and said What if a truck load of wood arrived, could you operate the forklift? Steph replied that she was a certified operator and drove a forklift for five years at the Johnson Controls warehouse in Lakewood, WA.

Steph’s convinced that she got that job because of her skills, but I think it’s because she drove my cool old truck Jack, to the interview.

Sadly, Tolberts is having their “Going Out Of Business Sale” tomorrow. It’s been a good ride for Kelly and Rhonda. Laid a lot of wood and employed a bunch of people. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop by. It’s right across the street from MD Nursery.

This shell of an old phone booth is wrapped up in the bushes next to the Bunkhouse. It brings back memories of a time when these upright communication devices were an important part of our lives. You could even sleep in them if you had to!

Back in 1966, Crazy Louie and I hitch-hiked down to Ensenada Mexico, to drink. The guy that gave us the ride from Tijuana ended up kidnapping Louie, took him back into the States, raped him, and then dumped him off on a beach in Santa Monica.

I searched for Louie that entire day and finally hitched back to the States myself. Louie traveled for a couple days, sleeping in phone booths. In one of the most bizarre coincidences of my life, I found Louie in a city park in Long Beach three days later. He was sitting on a bench with his head in his hands and a guy with a long white beard was standing over him.

He told me later that he was sitting there in a hopeless state, tired and hungry, when this old guy walked up and asked him what was wrong. Louie told him he was trying to find me, and the guy told him to pray about it. Meanwhile, I was in the same park, taking a nap on the grass. When I got up I went to the center of the park, instead of continuing down the main street, and there was Louie and the old man.

Louie was a touch on the slow side and I don’t think he would have survived if I hadn’t found him. We made it back intact to our hometown of Paradise, CA, and Louie became quite religious. Me? I just kept traveling…