What about my local ski hotel manager. He was the biggest local legend I ever knew. Hard but fair was how I remember working for him and his wife. It was a pretty big hotel by Australian standards accommodating up to four Hundred guests. Twenty staff lived on site as well. I suppose with that many people living so closely were was always loads of drama so there was definitely a need to be hard.
I sort of ended up like part of the family. He used to call me his number one son. I am not sure how his own son felt about that, but he wasn't around much. I ended up working 3 winter seasons in a row down there, back then the place was not open in summer. It was great when the winter conditions were good and the hotel was going off nightly with live music.
I am pictured filming our hotel race day with the man in question doing the voice over which we used to show straight after dinner before the music started. I think that why I liked him so much was his way with words, heaps of life experience, just so calm, collected and so funny with out really insulting anyone. Even when I was in trouble it ended up some sort of a joke.
Once I almost fell off the roof when trying unblock a chimney. I slipped on some ice, saved myself after a bit of a slide but dropped his best battery drill. After I collected myself together I ask a horrified customer who saw the whole lot to throw the battery drill back up to me. Unfortunately the throw missed me by a mile and the drill smashed to pieces on a hard concrete drive way.
This little event won me fuck up of the week at our staff meeting but he described it like I should not be trying to ski down the roof to impress the female customers.
I also included a photo of me trying to complete the slalom race course in the hotels sumo suit. Ah The good old days!
