9/1/07 Hooray, the Phone is Broken!

With Labor Day comes September. Where did the summer go?

Bob spent his day building flower boxes.....

and installing a ceiling fan in the office/camp store.

I, on the other hand, did something totally different from anything I've done so far here in Stanton, MO.

Normally, I would work a split shift on a Saturday, today I reported for work at my usual 11 a.m.. Today I played telephone operator. Now it is not unusual for me spend part of my day on the telephone taking reservations for a campsite or making reservations for a float down the river or returning a call for whatever reason. This is not the kind of telephone work I did today. Today I was a substitute pay phone. Let me explain.

We found out on Friday that the pay phone at the Meramec State Park, where the float trips end, is out of order. Barb called in a work order late Friday afternoon to the local phone company but its my guess that it will not be a high priority on this holiday weekend. Since we have floaters on the river today there has to be a way for them to call the office to let us know they are ready for pickup. This is where I came in.

Dan drove me to the river with lawn chair, book, Pepsi and camera in hand. I spent the day on the banks of the Meramec River waiting for our floaters to return so that I could call the office on a cell phone and let Dan know that floaters were in. Hey, tough job but somebody's got to do it.

I am so thankful it was a picture perfect day and not a cloudy, drizzly day. It was in the mid to high 80's, with no humidity, not a cloud in the bluest of blue skies and I got to spend the day watching happy people start out and end their river adventures.

I made myself comfortable in the lawn chair I brought, found my place in my book and settled my Pepsi in the shadow I cast on the ground. This is where I spent the next four and a half hours watching the comings and goings on the river. Again, a tough job but somebody's got to do it.

For awhile I watched these youngster's play on the boat ramp. They had a ball!

I watched large groups take off on their float trips.....

....and I watched small parties such as this Dad, Mom, Daughter and "Rover" take off on theirs.

I saw some rather "different" floating devices also. Check out this blue thing. Its all one piece which means one of them is going to have to paddle backwards. I wouldn't want to have that floaters arms tomorrow! Oh the aches!

I've never seen a floating watercraft this big!

There they go!

The Water Patrol was out in force today and I shot this picture of someone being led away in handcuffs. I don't know what he did but it was bad enough that the officer took him out of canoe or off his raft and hauled him away.

One of the state park's "float boys" was wearing this T-shirt and I just had to get a picture of it.

Much too soon the last of the floaters made their way to the takeout point on the river and it was time for Dan to load the canoes on the trailer.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring but if a call is put out for a volunteer to serve as telephone operator on the river you can bet I'll be jumping up and down, waving my hand, yelling, "Pick me! Pick me!