Memories of 87 years by Bob

  Rainbow Cottages II It seems a lot happened during the time we owned the Cottages. We certainly had some interesting characters stay at our place. One that stands out was a fellow named Dallas. He came from California and, as it turned out, was supposed to be on patrol for manslaughter. It seems he shot some fellow in a phone booth. I'm not sure why but he doesn't seem the type to cross with. Of course I didn't know that so when he was late with rent, I asked him to leave and pay the balance. I think he owed about $100 or so.  It turns out I caught up with him and threatened him with the police, he paid up. Later I found out his past and how lucky I was. He was nice to us and polite. Not long after that the local grocery was robbed and after that Dallas disappeared. Seems like a strange coincident! One more character and I'll move on. Another fellow that stayed with us was a fellow named Tim. He had a good job when he moved in as an equipment operator. Not long after ...

 RAINBOW COTTAGES We owned the motel for about 8 years. I would say we had a few adventures during this time. I believe I said my friend Milt (Mike from now on) moved to Steamboat after we arrived, but sometime before that we tried an experiment renting ski equipment from the motel. Seems like a good idea doesn't it? During this time we had an older couple, Polly and Bill, who had a room reserved during ski season. I think they drove from Texas, or at least they had a car when they showed up at our place!. I'm pretty sure they were hesitating about the stay as Polly stayed in the car and Bill was sent to look at the room. This was after our remodel of the rooms so the beds and carpet were new. Our place was old but we kept it very clean and we had new linens. After Bill's examination, the couple decided to stay. We invited them into our home and after some discussion, Bill and Polly decided to take advantage of our ski equipment rental. The equipment was in the only place c...

 MORE STEAMBOAT SPRINGS I have many recollections of events but I still forget many and placing the time is difficult after so many years. A couple of things I neglected involve my personal habits and my relationship with family. When growing up I never drank alcohol or smoked tobacco (or chewed). I learned these habits as I grew older. Smoking came when I joined the Air Force. When in boot camp, if on a break, we were told to light 'em if you have 'em. Otherwise you were cleanup detail. I chose to light up, so started a habit I have since learned to hate. Drinking came as part of a social desire and today we both still enjoy a cocktail at 5! I love red wine and am particularly fond of Chianti and other Italian red wines, so if a gift is in order I am easy(hint, hint). In December of 1969 we were in Steamboat Springs for Ellen's brother Mike's wedding. We were staying at the cottages when Ellen's mom woke us up with bad news. It seems Ellen's brother Tom was in ...

 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS II My son Tony has a slightly different recollection of the furnace detail he had but it's my blog so I will stick with my memory. He was less than ten years old so maybe his memory and mine are correct for different episodes! Anyway, the auger to the furnace in the house quit so we were forced to convert the boiler to gas in that location. This was a dark and small basement with a lot of coal dust to deal with over the years.. The heating system was no more efficient no matter what heated the water!     We joined the Chamber of Commerce and signed up for their booking system for the ski year of 1976/1977. We were taking reservations soon for the coming year. All looked good at that time but wait! I had been traveling to Steamboat Springs since 1976 and if you ever wanted it to snow just ask me to travel there. By November we anxiously waited for the inevitable snow to arrive. By late November when the skiing usually began there was still no s...

 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS COLORADO This is the longest segment of my 87 years. The family moved to Steamboat January 1, 1976. We stayed off and on until January of 2001. Renee actually went first as she didn't want to ride with her maniacally father and Chris stayed behind to finish high school as he was a senior. To make the transition I decided to purchase a brand new 1975 VW Rabbit. More on that later! We arrived on January 1 when the temperature was a balmy -5 degrees zero. We had brought plants from California which promptly froze. I'm not sure how long I stayed as I had agreed to work until March with Intech, so I flew off again. At that time Frontier was flying a Convair STL into the airport. I flew in most weekends. Now for the good part. I quit a job paying almost 6 figures a year and bought an OLD motel that grossed $25,000 per year. The motel was built in the 1920s and the house that was with it dated from before 1906. The motel had 8 units with kitchens and all the furnitu...

 California III The routine followed in California was:gone 2 weeks, home 1, so much of my time was flying to a strange city, stay in a motel a couple of nights, smooze the rep and hope they sold something! I met some nice people on the road a couple  with whom I have stayed in contact. Good friend, John, in Houston, Texas. He enjoyed golf so we were able to play a couple of really good courses. Our daughter Julie came out swinging. She was cute as a button  but could literally destroy anything! She destroyed her crib as soon as left alone. By the time she was 2 she could climb to the top of the monkey bars and had no fear of jumping (which she did). She has since grown into a very nice (if not calm) women and is a good mother. Leroy talked me in to traveling to Japan to meet with our licensee in Tokyo. Let me tell you, that is a long airplane trip and the time change is brutal. We made a stop in Hawaii where I was able to use the duty free store. I was informed that the ...

 California II So much happened in the 5 years we lived in Saratoga that I am sure I will leave out parts but this was a long time ago. My rep in NYX was VERY Italian and loved good food. He also weighed in at 400 pounds. I had quite a few occasions to dine with him in and around Central Park. He had an auto fitted for his figure and seemed well loved at our clients place in the Bronx. I think he knew every Italian Restaurant in New York, He would order a 7 course meal and still be hungry. Sadly this was also his demise. On one of the occasions I was in California I received a call that he had died of a coronary at age 37. Tony was a very special person and loved life but not enough to give up his desire of all things Italian. I felt proud to know him. We had a company in Japan licensed to build product. I'm not sure how much they built but they were very gracious hosts. Bill and I were invited to an Embassy party in San Francisco on at least one occasion. This was sadly before I h...