Reconnecting

“Mirepoix, mirepoix, roux, roux, roux

Slice ‘em up, dice ‘em up

Put ‘em in the stew”

An old CIA cheer

when in doubt, feed them trout

Facebook is an amazing thing.  It can be a waste of time too.  In recent days I have enjoyed sharing dinner with two old friends, both of them retired chefs, both of them New Englanders who transplanted themselves to California at various times in their lives.

The first was a friend we called Anton when he was in the kitchen, but was and is Tony the rest of his life.  When I first moved to Mammoth Lakes I spent a week on Tony’s couch.  He took me skiing and showed me what Mammoth Mountain really had to offer.  After a six week break from working I took a job under Chef Anton at the Mammoth Mountain Inn’s Altitude 9000 Restaurant.

It had been over a decade since we had seen each other, then Facebook put us back in touch.  Tony had been living in New Mexico for a stretch, then Steamboat Springs and finally landed in Bozeman, Montana.  Not only was he a great cook, the guy could ski and ride a bicycle like nobody else I’ve known. 

Black & Blue

"Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter

 and those who matter don't mind."

Dr. Seuss

bleu handcrafted foods

The U-Haul was loaded, the rolling door closed.  I grabbed the ramp by the straps and began to run it into the hidden space it occupies for driving.  Unknown to me, the latch securing the rear door prevented the ramp from moving more than a few inches.  I was moving with full force and came to an abrupt halt, slamming both legs into the end of the ramp, mid thigh level.

“That’s gonna leave a mark” flowed from my clenched jaw amidst groans and deep breathes.  Over then next week dark purple bruises the size of baseballs intensified.  It took a few more weeks for them to fade, during which time my taste buds were treated to some black and bleu delights of a different nature.

Spring Fourwords

“When you fall on your face

you are moving forward.”

Mario Batali

Positivity

plum crazy

Things got pretty rough there for a while, sickness, winter blues, a job that I couldn’t pull off physically, cold, dark, emptied piggy banks and no prospects for improvement.  Somehow I stayed positive about the situation while laying low and keeping busy.  One day in early January I got a voicemail from a friend who I had worked for in the past.  When I called him back the next day things started to fall in place.

Serendipity

A job had been offered me working at the mid chalet on Mammoth Mountain at nearly 10,000’ in elevation so I went to see what it was all about.  In order to get there I first rode my motorcycle four miles to the bus stop in Bishop at about 7:15am.  Then an hour long ride up the hill to Mammoth Lakes, a short walk to the Red Line bus stop and another 20 minute ride up to the Main Lodge where finally a 10 minute gondola ride took me to the mid chalet.