Today I said goodbye to Yellowstone, but I will get to that later. The post Labor day week was fairly slow. The saying that they have around here for those visiting the days after Labor Day is they are either newly wed or nearly dead. That saying was in evidence this week. Bus loads of senior citizens were unloaded in Old Faithful area. The place was full of people with walkers and canes for sure. Very few kids, and I was grateful for that fact. I got in 90,000 steps this week even though it was less busy.
The weather has been great for tourists as the days were in the mid 60's and for us in the dorm, as the nights were in the 30's. Great for sleeping. The pine marten is still making a mess in the stock room and shows no sign of leaving his hiding place. I got to see my second favorite geyser erupt this week. The Beehive geyser is a good one to see and really soaks the tourists on the boardwalk.
The bad issues for this week is a really bad flu is making its way across the employees. My fellow grocery worker Gary started off getting sick and it soon was passed to another grocery worker and friend Jack Hade. Then my grocery boss Ron came down with it and then the store manager Chanda became sick. It is a pretty nasty flu with fever and aches and such. Last night my 89 year old friend Jack took a turn for the worse and finally decided to go to the clinic. Because he has a pacemaker and other issues they had him transferred to Idaho Falls hospital. As of this writing he is still in the ER and awaiting a room in the hospital. He said he was on oxygen and trying to get some rest through all the tests. The problem is the grocery section was getting in eleven thousand dollars worth of goods on a truck today and the only healthy person left to unload it is Joey. Even if Ron was over the flu, he still is limited to only lifting 5 pounds due to his hernia surgery.
The whole situation with the flu and Ron's surgery has been greatly on my mind. You see about a month ago Gary indicated to me he wanted to extend to work til the end of the season. You see his original contract end date was September 13th. He waited too long to ask for an extension because they already hired me to cover grocery until October the 19th. I talked to others about Gary and it seems he really needed to work and the money. So I asked him if he wanted me to contact HR and request we switch contract end dates, so he can work until the store closes. He indicated that he would appreciate that and so I contacted Chanda the store manager who contacted HR. HR approved the request and that is how I am heading home today. Once I started to see the grocery having staffing issues a few weeks ago with Ron's surgery, I asked Ron if HR would extend me to cover the grocery because basically Joey and Gary are the only healthy ones. Jack and Ron cannot lift much weight and trucks need unloaded. He said he mentioned it and HR said no as they only count heads and felt that four was enough to cover the store until closing. HR does not consider the health of their employees. That is why I have mixed feelings about leaving today. I know that grocery will survive and the world will go around the same direction tomorrow, but that is a lot of work left on Joey's shoulders as the only healthy worker left to unload trucks. I have not even mentioned that today the lower store closed and soon their excess goods will be transferred to our store and someone will have to unload that and put it in the stock room.
It is with somewhat sad feelings that I say goodbye to Old Faithful Upper General Store. Goodbye Chanda and I pray you get to feeling better. You are doing a great job running both the upper and lower stores. Goodbye Ron, you are a great grocery boss and I pray your hernia heals well. Goodbye Gary and thanks for keeping the drink cooler in order. Goodbye Jack, I pray you heal from the flu and you have a nice rest of the season. Goodbye Joey thank you for stepping up and helping Ron during his time off for surgery. It was a pleasure working with you. Goodbye to my old friend and the hardest worker I know, George. I pray you talk to God and iron out your feelings about your life. God will hear if you just talk. Goodbye to Teresa and all the floor managers. You are doing a great job during tough times. Goodbye to Evan, Cedra, David, Kate, and all the EDR folks. The meals were great and you all did well during some tough times with staffing issues. Goodbye to my long time friends Bob and Patrick. I wish you both well with your winter jobs and vacations. Goodbye Jeff and Brenda and all the other employees in the store. Some I got to know because you traveled through my area and others I did not get to know personally. I wish you all the best for the rest of the season.
As I close this 2026 blog I want to say something special happened to me on my way out of Yellowstone. I was able to see a fully antlered bull moose. I have never seen one in my ten years here at Yellowstone. He was big and it was amazing. He was wading through the Yellowstone river and veered toward me and my truck. I could not believe my luck. I posted the amazing video on Facebook and it will be a special video I will cherish.
Total number of miles walked in the store since contract began is roughly 384, which is roughly 768,000 steps according to my smart watch.
Thanks for reading my blog and my musings. Take care and may you find Jesus and if you have may the Lord bless you and keep you.
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| My grocery store |
