Bret Hobbs' Adventure in Retirement: Wall Drug Adventure 2020

Today being my last official work day at Wall Drug, I thought I would forego the happenings of the day and the dog of the day for a time to thank those who I have worked with and met while here.

First and foremost is my boss Pauline. I want to thank you Pauline for helping me to learn the ways of moccasins, belts, buckles, and kids clothes. You are an energetic worker and a tireless worker who cares for your department and frets over your job to make it better. Other than my friend George, I have not witnessed such a good worker who never seems to run out of energy. I suppose that is because you are a lot younger than myself. You have made this job for me rather nice. You know quite well that I really don't like selling moccasins but you sure did help make the dreaded time go by much faster. I wish you and your husband Joe well and I pray you will have a great life together. I hope with all the overtime and the extra working at the Red Rock that you and your husband will see your dream come true of owning your own land and home one day. Thanks again for being patient with me. p.s. You still stink at teaching people about the elevator. (inside joke folks).

I want to thank Gina in Buckboard for also having patience with me and for letting me bend her ear several times about my wife and sons and grand-kids. You are a fine example of a worker for others to follow and even though you claim it, you are not nor have ever been the B word. :) I wish you and your husband well and I know you have your hands full with Emily and Andrew, but they are fine young people. I have enjoyed talking to them and seeing them work also. You take care and please continue to be the people person you are as I have enjoyed working along side you these past months.

I want to say goodbye to my co-workers. To Josh, I thank you for the time we spent working together. You and your wife are great worker examples and I know you will show your kids that example too. I wish you nothing but the best as you travel and work around the US in your bus. I pray your kids are home schooled well and this taste of working for a living sticks to them. I pray also that you and your family find Jesus. To Dean, you old coot. Thanks for the laughs and I appreciate your work ethic too. It has been nice working with you and having a laugh or two. I wish you good health and continue to be a bright spot in camping. To Ken (the head of boots), thanks for helping me learn to close the store and get people out so we can go home. You are a tireless worker keeping the boot section stocked and running well. I pray for good health for you and your wife. I also pray that the rest of your season goes well and quickly. To Ken (my ex Navy Submariner), thanks for sharing your Navy times with me and it is good to see and talk with someone who knew what I did in the Navy and I knew what they did. You are a great and patient worker. Keep up the great work and keep your boss Ken happy in boots. To Stephanie, thanks for working with me in moccasins. We made a great sales team. ;) I wish you well in the coming weeks and I pray for your safety on where ever you are headed. I know you work hard where ever they put you and I know you are an example to those around you. Keep smiling and don't buy any more shoes. :) To those that I have worked with occasionally, Joe, Dan, Pat, Deb, Jean (my break person), Laura, Emily, Ken (yes we had three Kens) and Leigh. I wish you all good health and safety. It has been a pleasure working with you all.

To all of those I have worked with I promised you I will be praying for you and I will. I will pray that God leads you first and foremost to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, but also for your safety and your health. I will miss you all my new friends and I know I will be stopping in the future to say hello.

Finally my evaluation of my time as a Wall Drug employee. If you have been reading my blog you know right off that I wont be coming back to work here in the future, unless something drastically changes. The people were fantastic, but the job was not what I would like to be doing during my summer work. I need a job that is more active than standing at a register selling shoes and waiting on customers. That does not mean there were not jobs at Wall Drug that fit the bill. Working in the basement and stocking the floor would have been an active job that I think I would have liked doing. God put me here this year for a reason and I think that reason is to learn to have patience and self-control. Pauline said I did an excellent job selling moccasins. I told her it was because of my philosophy of working as if I was working for the Lord. I try to do this where ever I am at. Whether it was a Crane for the Navy or taxes for my brother or selling moccasins. I think Pauline saw the results of that attitude and I am glad it showed. The other issue I have with Wall Drug employment is their dorm is not really a dorm but a trailer. It was nice having a place to myself but I don't think I want to be in a trailer with other people. I would end up being the trailer Mom and I don't want to have to be the boss of the trailer to get people to clean and pick up after themselves. I also think Yellowstone's employee dinning room and meal plan is way better than having to buy and fix my own meals. I know that while I worked here at Wall that I did not eat as nutritionally as I did in Yellowstone. Also with Yellowstone being more an active work and eating right I lost weight. I did not lose weight here in Wall and that is a big negative for working at Wall Drug. As for things to do in South Dakota versus Yellowstone. Well there are many things to do in both places, but the hiking is much better in Yellowstone. South Dakota has many things to do and places to visit, so that was not much of a negative to working here. I got to see a lot of places that I have never seen before just passing by as a tourist and I got to know the area much better.

That is about all for my last entry. I want to thank my wife Cathy for again keeping the home front going while I am out here. I miss her very much and wish that she would come out on an adventure with me one year. Tomorrow I will be taking a slow trek home. I plan on first heading to Cody Wyoming and then to the mountains to get all this moccasin selling out of my system. Then onto Yellowstone to visit the store and my friends there. I also plan on getting my application started for next year if I can. Then I will head to the Tetons to say hello to those great mountains. Then onto Idaho Falls then south to Utah and then God willing to Silverton Colorado to say hello to other friends. Then say goodbye to the mountains then home. Please say a prayer for my travels and thanks again for reading my blog. I hope in the future the blog will help anyone who maybe thinks about working at Wall Drug.

Some pictures of my last day.