February 2005-Skate Ski Heaven

Ok, so in February where I live we...hey wait - have I told you about where I live yet? Maybe I should start with that, huh?

I live in Hailey, Idaho. It's about 10 miles south of the famous Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho - world reknown for its celebrities and skiing. If you read those mags at the grocery store checkout counter, Hailey is home to Bruce Willis and Demi Moore while other big names like Tom Hanks live up north.

My only claim to fame around seeing celebrities is Bruce Willis once at a local coffee shop. I'm sure I've seen more but most of the time they don't look like they do in movies. Plus, since I don't watch TV I couldn't identify most of them anyway!!

I want to share a funny story with you though. When I first moved to the Valley I worked part time at a health food store, specializing in nutritional supplements. A guy comes in to place a special order.

Doing what we normally do, I ask him for his name (Steve Miller) and phone number.

I write them down, look at him blankly and say "Thanks, is that all?".

Now I notice that he looks nervous. The friend with him is getting agitated and I'm thinking "What is up with these guys anyway?".

He starts to leave the store, then he stops and turns around. Then he turns away, then turns back and blurts out at me-- "No, I'm STEVE MILLER (pause) - of the band."

Again, I just nod at him and say "That's great". I mean, I like his music and all but what was he looking for?

At this point, he starts to explain. Apparently he's had problems in the past with groupies (obviously, I am not one of them) getting his phone number and harrassing him.

And a light bulb goes off in my head and I say "Ohhhhhh".

I prompty erased his number from our special order pad, he felt better and I was a tad bit more educated about the highly successful and very normal-looking people surrounding me.

Ok, back to February. LOTS of skiing. It's the big Nordic Ski Race known as the Boulder Mountain Tour. Our house is packed with two couples, two toddlers and one of their friends. They ski 30 km over mixed terrain. I haven't done it yet (that sounds WAAAY too long to me right now), but enjoy cheering on my friends from the sidelines with my cowbells.

And for the rest of the month, I just went out and toured on my skis for fun!