When less is more…

Have you ever been amazed at circus acts, gymnastics or ice skating performances, and observed how seemingly little efforts produce stunning results?
The same is true of skiing, cooking, playing violin or plastering walls… The pro always goes through the motion effortlessly, precisely and with peerless results. The reverse seems to hold true, the more we grit our teeth, tense our muscles and expend huge amounts of energy, the less efficient we are and the closest we are to failure... Like "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," something has to be said about expanding a minimum to achieve greatness. I just find it inspiring!

Rock bottom

I think I love to talk about cycles and ups and down. A costly mistake early this week gave me plenty of reasons to be depressed, angry and feel right at the bottom of the barrel. Immediately after that incident occurred, I didn’t want to face the music and instead, I try to rationalize things. At the end however, it took me two full days to absorb and - I guess - fully mourn that stupid move. What have I learned from it? Well, when you screw up you need to fully face up to it, really feel the pain, and certainly not avoid it. Finally, when you’re done hurting, it’s a clear signal that you can move on. Oh yes, don’t ever forget the lesson learned in the process. Generally, the more pain felt, the higher the retention. That’s good news.

Back on skis

Yesterday saw my return on skis after eight months following my Achilles’ tendon rupture. For the past ten years, I never stayed such a long time without skiing; it was more like five or six months at the very most. The run was 100% on good man-made snow, off the Payday lift. My new Scott Mission skis behaved very well and so did my new DalBello Krypton boots. No feedback from good-old-right-Achilles’ that remained quiet and didn’t raise its voice; skiing must be good for the soul and for the sole of my feet!

When it's good to be “controlling”

A few days ago we discussed how it seems possible to choose one’s attitude for the day and carry on. As we all know, it’s not that easy and not that simple. There are bumps on the road that are intent on making us trip or mean mermaids singing to a totally different tune and wanting us to change to a less upbeat music. Simply put, these negative influences want to control the way we feel and want to take over our attitudes. So that’s this simple; it becomes a choice between us being in control or outside events or people taking over. The transfer is every bit as devious as it’s subtle so we better pay attention and only obey our own set of orders and no one else! After all, being a controlling person may not be as bad as people make it…

Alex Dusser, 1942 - 2007

Last night a memorial was arranged by Jeannot, Raymonde and Claude Mercier to celebrate the life of our common friend Alex, who passed away this summer at his Spanish vacation home. Following a mass at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, a group of 40 or so friends and acquaintances from the Utah French community as well as from Park City, had dinner at the Market Street restaurant in Holladay, near Salt Lake City. After working as a Chef on the “France,” a luxury transatlantic liner, Alex came to the U.S. in the late 60s and first worked for one of Paul Anka’s restaurants in New York City. He then moved to Sun Valley where he ran “La Provence” through 1985. When he came to Park City, he opened and operated “Alex Restaurant” until 2003. He was looking forward to retire in the French Pyrenees and his survived by his wife Mireille, his son Dominique and wife Irène, and two grand-daughters. We miss you Alex!

Maintenance costs

Coincidentally, I took for my car for its 60,000 mile service and inspection at the same time I had my last physical check-up, read the 60 years service - give and take a few weeks. While the prognosis was pretty good in both instances, the respective bill amounts were enlightening. I was expecting to pay more for the car and less for my body. At the end, the bill for my German-made car came at $485 while that for "yours truly" set me back some $674. In the past, servicing the car was the expensive part, but now the tide has turned thanks to skyrocketing health care costs and my getting older. The good part is that I’m feeling extremely valued as I’m now getting more expensive to maintain than a luxury car. If that’s bad for the wallet, it’s perfect for the self-esteem!

Dry start in the dry State

This will be our 23rd winter in Park City and also one of the driest. After regular and bothersome snowfalls almost every two weeks in September and October, the skies have dumped out all the moisture they had. Thank the weather god for our Arctic weather. With about 10 degrees Fahrenheit every morning and temperatures staying below freezing during the day, our local ski resorts have finally step up to the plate, opened their wallets and started to fire their snow guns; till now, they’ve just “played chicken” hoping for a freebie from Mother Nature. Today is opening day with only one run served in Park City. I won't ski as I believe I deserve better conditions and, as I mentioned earlier, continue to entertain no expectation as far as when real snow will come. While some wash their cars, start a snow dance or go in pilgrimage to Lourdes, I just wash my hands off all that snow fever nonsense; it’ll come soon enough!