Yellowstone Adventure - Day 46

  Well the day started out normally. Getting up for early shift, eating breakfast with kids half awake and working the stock room because things were very slow. That all changed after the lunch break though. I walked onto the floor into a big crowd of tourists. Old Faithful had just gone off and the herd made their way to the store for trinkets. I relieved the cashier at my station who thanked me for the break. With head down I proceeded to go to work exchanging money for Chinese junk. :) After about an hour things were easing up and I started to sense the light behind me was getting dark. Sure enough clouds were rolling in and in the distance I heard thunder. Mountain storms come in fast and hard but leave rather quickly too. I noticed that it was about time for Old Faithful to erupt again and the boardwalk around her was packed with tourists. The thunder started getting closer and then sprinkles started. As soon as Old Faithful erupted it cut loose with a very hard rain and the temperature started dropping rapidly into the low fifties. I looked out the window and the tourists were running and guess where they were heading for shelter? Yep the Old Faithful general store. I could not believe that we could pack that many people into the store. It was a mad house of those trying to shop and those just standing around trying to dry off. Observation from this is that I thought my Golden retriever smelled bad wet, but these tourists really stunk up the place being wet. I had to leave my cashier post to head down to the dungeon for a box and it was like wading upstream. People would not move and the line to the bathroom was fifteen people long and they would not move out of fear of losing their place. Sure people bought souvenirs during this time but it was a struggle to get people to form a recognizable line. Some people were getting very upset at line cutters when we really do not have a formal line at all. Observation number two. The tourists from India are the most demanding and rude people I have met. I worked with an Indian group during this maelstrom that was not happy no matter what and even when I finished with cashing them out they came back time and time again to butt into the line to request more attention.  I was beginning to think a guy from Georgia was going to ring one of their necks when they butt into his transaction time. I apologized to several customers today because of the actions of this group several times. I ask Patrick about tourists from India and he said historically from his perspective, India tourists were generally like that and he said he blames it on the caste system that they are raised under. Some think they are superior to others and demand attention and do not consider being rude to inferiors as a problem.
  Another problem with those buying and those standing around is that tourists do not feel obligated to return anything they picked up but did not want back to where it belonged. They did not want to fight the crowd to return anything to it's proper place. So after the rain left and the herd diminished. The place was a shambles of items shoved anywhere and everywhere they should not be.  I feel sorry for the late shift and the early shift tomorrow that has to put the place back in order.
  Needless to say I need church tonight. I am sitting in the Old Faithful Lodge writing this and just trying to chill before church. Cathy said I was being cranky when I talked to her on the phone, but I told her I was not just realistic in my observations. :)
  On a side note we lost two more workers today. A lovely couple, Gerald and Pam, who worked as custodians. We only have four custodians so losing half of the work force will hurt. I will miss them as they were one of the few Christian couples I have met. I don't know why they are leaving, but someone guessed they were worn out. As the work they are doing was demanding with long hours and I think they were in their mid sixties in age.
  Not much else happening but tomorrow is the fourth of July and the day before I am off. I switch shifts tomorrow to late shift, so I get to sleep in.  Also the group I work for gave all the employees new tee shirts we are to wear tomorrow. We get to keep these but the other tee shirts we have has to be turned in when we leave.
  Take care for now and pray for me. I am praying for you all.