'Tis I, me, looking a bit rumpled and plump in one of the new costumes Madame bought me last year. I had worked for 3 or is it 4 years wearing 3 look-alike costumes that were well worn and used before I acquired them. I decided I was due for a new one or two so I asked Madame, she concurred, and here is one. It is bustled in back. I was NOT going to post this because it shows me just as I am. But, why not?

Behind me are 3 rhubarb plants I acquired years ago from Linda in Haines when I worked for Skag Air. A few uprooted stalks planted here resulted in lovely maintenance free (almost) foliage. The second year they were planted, they grew higher than my head (I am 5'3 or so). Not the tallest in town, Corrington's Ivory Museum has one on the corner of 3rd and Broadway that grew beyond 8 feet tall. I am NOT making this up! Then one year vandals cut it to the ground and it has never fully recovered to the point where the plant grows that tall again.

Linda was trying to eradicate rhubarb from her garden--it had taken over. It is dang near an impossibility around here. This stuff grows, expands, puts down great roots, and just doesn't go away. Rhubarb is popular here, rhubarb pie, rhubarb syrup, Reba even has a rhubarb liquid concoction with which she makes a rhubarb-tini! I do not eat rhubarb, but neighbor Carol has asked if she can come harvest mine--I told her absolutely.



I paused on my way downtown to take a photo of the Norwegian Pearl docked at the Broadway dock. The Norwegian Pearl was on the Ore Dock today, Golden Princess and Radiance on the Railroad Dock.

We sent out 5 tours today, all full except for a couple of seats. When I went around on Third Street to straighten out a small problem and hand Colin his list of passengers, he slumped his shoulders and said "Really? Another tour? Full? Whew, these people are wearing me out!"

I laughed and showed him all my dispatch sheets in my hand for all the tours of the day (I just grabbed them all up in my rush to get to Third Street and Colin) and said "Huh? You have only seen 28 and have 14 on this tour, I've seen all 92 passengers we signed up today! Suck it up young man, I'm 30 years older than you are!" This got a chuckle from him, he straightened his posture and went to give his 3rd tour of the day.

Today was hectic with less chaos as we had few foreign visitors today. I had 4 people who talked to Greg who only spoke Spanish except for one woman whose English was borderline. They were told by another tour seller that we had a driver that spoke fluent Spanish -- that would be Joe. However, they couldn't go with him, they did go with Colin.

As Greg was trying to tell them about the tour, I found our Spanish translation written out by I don't know who and handed it to Greg. This helped with the sale. Greg told them that Colin did not speak Spanish, although he had spent a year in Bolivia. They decided to go. Colin called me as he began his tour saying "These 4 people insist that Greg told them they would have a driver who spoke Spanish, I don't! "

I told him that Greg absolutely did not say that. I told him that if they wanted to get off the tour now, he should send them to the shop and i would refund their money. They decided to go anyway. When Colin arrived back on Third Street to drop passengers, these 4 insisted that according to the spanish translation they were given, he would return them to their dock. CARP! (yes I misspelled the word I mean). Colin was already late for the next tour and he told them he would not be taking them back to their ship. They refused to leave the bus! CARP!

Eric had just dropped off his last passengers from his tour, so I had him come around, pick these people up and return them to the dock... That was the situation I was on Third Street to handle.



The van was parked around the corner on Third from the shop. When I got there all ready to go to the bank to make deposit then home, I decided to get my camera out and take a photo of this store next to the Sweet Tooth Cafe (where I get lunches sometimes). This building has been a sedate color of light blue. Renovations have been done this May and this SCREAMING yellow paint applied. Knocks your eyes out, doesn't it? Someone said to me "Oh, I think it is the red trim that makes the yellow scream." I said that I thought the red actually toned down the yellow's screaming.



And finally, on the corner where my van was parked, catty-corner from the screaming yellow building, one of our Parkies giving a free historical walking tour to a small group of people. Some days these Parkies herd groups large enough that they need a small battery-powered bullhorn to be heard! These tours are 1 hour in length, happen every hour on the hour, and are available by signing up for them at the NPS building a block from this location.

I am not nearly as tired as I was yesterday. I believe it is because the battering of raised foreign voices was absent in my day. I came home, changed clothes, talked with Hub a bit, then came upstairs, had an apple and some peanut butter, laid down on the futon and fell asleep for 3 hours. Pre-book e-mail is done, I am going to get into my nightie, have a salad, and go back to sleep.

Blessed be!