Showing posts with label black hills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black hills. Show all posts

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Happiness



I don't think we recognize the happy times while we're living them; or perhaps we think we'll always feel this way, and therefore, this feeling is normal. We don't even recognize the emotion as happiness. Maybe it's the absence of worry, jitteryness; an embrace of the big blue sky.

I've pinpointed 1985 as my "happy time".  I was thirty, which is actually the perfect age, all things considered. My boys were at the fun age; the world opening up to them and me along for the ride. My job was perfect for my lifestyle. I worked second shift at a job I really liked -- interesting, yet only occasionally stressful. My mornings were my own. I even enjoyed setting up the ironing board in the living room, flipping my TV dial to MTV and pressing my hospital uniform, while this flashed on my screen in the background:


Even the music was optimistic in '85, and why not? We had a president who made us feel like everything was going to be okay. Our country was safe, tucked in. President Reagan had everything under control. And everyone felt it. 

I drove to the local mall with my youngest son, and as I slid into the parking slot, this song came on the radio. Matt knew a few of the artists, but I pointed out some he didn't know; some he needed to know. We made a game of picking out the voices. 


I had a savings account at the hospital credit union, and dutifully deposited twenty-five dollars out of each paycheck -- our vacation booty. Come July, I'd descend the steps to the hospital basement and acquire reams of traveler's checks and sign each one in the presence of the teller. Then, mid-month, we'd pack up our travel trailer with coolers full of New Coke, bologna, and Hostess treats and steer down Highway 83 toward Belle Fouche and ultimately, Rapid City and the exhale of the Rafter J Bar Ranch nestled within the tall pines. 



The campground had an outdoor pool and my boys made a beeline for it before we'd even pounded the camper stakes into the ground. In the setting sun, an Oglala brave would dance in full Lakota regalia as we tourists sat, cross-legged, in the tall prairie grass. At sunrise the next morning, we'd wind along the curvy two-lane logging road on our twelve-mile trip to the tourist town of Keystone so I could buy a Black Hills gold ring and my kids could ride the helicopter for a close-up view of Mount Rushmore.

1985 was the year of bands that have never been heard from since, but their hits are so iconic, it doesn't matter.





And a few who've stood the test of time:






Television was what it always was. Shows were "good" because we had nothing to compare them to. I watched Kate and Allie and Newhart and Family Ties. There was, however, one program that offered a glimpse of how good TV could be. It was on NBC on Wednesday nights, and since I worked second shift, I had to utilize my trusty VCR, because I was not about to miss it. Maybe working in a hospital made the show more special to me, but in reality, it was just a damn good show:


"Okay, smart guy, who's the president in 1985?"

"Ronald Reagan? Is Jerry Lewis Vice President?"

The eighties were the most fun period for movies. This classic was released -- guess when? 1985.


The country was optimistic; I was optimistic. 

I was happy.







Friday, June 6, 2008

Taking A Vacation This Year?

Are you taking a vacation this year? I know I'm not. Who can afford it? Dang, it costs me $30.00 to fill half my tank with gas, and that's just to get to work! And who wants to go there? Not me!

You know how it is. You get to work, and the day starts out fine. Of course, it's 6:00 a.m., and only a few people are actually there. No wonder it seems so nice.


Then, around 7:30'ish, people start straggling in. And you slowly start getting irritated.


I actually sent an email to HR today, because I was fed up with the state of the refrigerators. Here I was, just trying to retrieve my lunch (an apple and a can of Diet Coke), and, in order to get it out of the fridge, I ended up knocking a couple of half-filled bottles of water on the floor.

So, there I was, crawling around on the floor, trying to catch the rolling water bottles, all the time muttering, "give me a break!".


People are so rude.
In the fridge, I noticed that someone had stored a DOZEN EGGS!, a container of sour cream, a LARGE tupperware bowl of "something", a carton of (sour) milk, and various unknown foodstuffs, and I just reached the point where I'd had enough! There's approximately 350 employees in our company, and, I'm estimating, THREE refrigerators to handle all the lunches.

Who, pray tell, needs to bring a dozen eggs to work?? Are they frying up eggs for lunch? All we have is a microwave, so I don't know if they're whipping up omelets in the 'wave or what, but, c'mon!


So, you see, work can be annoying.


Of course, I digress (as usual).


I started out ruminating about vacations, and here I am, grumbling about rude and inconsiderate morons.


But tonight, since I get these ideas in my head, and I feel like I have to act on them, I went through some old photo albums, and scanned some of my vacation pictures from years past.
It sort of calmed me down. So, I thought I would share some with you.


DEVIL'S TOWER, WYOMING

NO, THIS IS NOT A POSTCARD - I TOOK THIS PICTURE!

ANOTHER VIEW OF MT. RUSHMORE - NEEDLES HIGHWAY, SOUTH DAKOTA


SYLVAN LAKE - CUSTER STATE PARK - BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

NEEDLES HIGHWAY - CUSTER STATE PARK - BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

STAVKIRKE CHURCH - RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

ABANDONED GOLD MINE - GHOST TOWN OF ROCHEFORD, SOUTH DAKOTA

LIVINGSTON, MONTANA

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

CHAPEL IN THE GRAND TETONS

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

JACKSON, WYOMING

RIVERBOAT ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

SAILBOATS IN THUNDER BAY, THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA