Elizabeth Jane Morgan

It’s October, the time for leaves changing colors, crisp air, and winter on the way. Or, if you’re me, October means getting ready for Christmas. Earlier this month, I left Yellowstone for the season and returned home. My first order of business was to take all the Christmas presents I had gathered over the year and wrap them, even before Halloween. Now, you’re probably gaping at me, wondering why I would do this so early. The answer is simple: I Love Christmas!

Christmas is the best holiday ever, in my opinion. All the decorations, the Christmas tree and my cats hiding behind it, hot chocolate on Christmas morning, and, of course, the presents. I love opening presents, but what I really adore is choosing presents for other people. Whether it’s imagining the recipient’s reaction, or watching it in person, I’m always so giddy when I think about how happy everyone will be.

So, what about Halloween? Do I just not care about it? No, I like Halloween. I loved dressing up when I was a little kid and go trick-or-treating. The main character of my book, Silver Rose, is a witch. I still dress up every year and walk around my house. We also have a tradition at my house, where we watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” every Halloween. It’s the perfect mix of Christmas and Halloween.

I’m ready for Christmas, but I can take a break from my holly jolly excitement and celebrate a holiday that’s all about costumes and candy. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy Halloween!

The tourist season at Yellowstone is almost at an end. My last day is October 4th and then I’m heading back home. It has definitely been an interesting year, for the world and here at Yellowstone.

Over the four months I’ve been here, I’ve seen people who refuse to wear their masks, and had some… unique interactions with them. A few weeks ago, I was on the door and someone tried to get in past me. I told her politely that she had to wear a mask to enter the building, but she accused me and the company I work for of “illegal practices.” She claimed to have a medical problem and can’t wear a mask. I’ve been told that we aren’t doing anything illegal, that this is for the health and safety for everyone. The woman yelled angrily at me, before turning away and leaving in a huff.

Recently, I was making a reservation for a man wanting to stay in the hotel. Several other employees were standing behind me, talking about the increased attendance to the park (it looked like the 4th of July, there were so many people), when a man came in and got one of my coworker’s attention. He wanted her to call the rangers, because he believed a crime had taken place. She asked him to put on a mask before she made the call and he immediately started yelling at her, saying that wearing masks was illegal. Both the guest I was helping and I looked up at that, our eyebrows raised. When she insisted that it was all perfectly legal, the screaming man stormed out, saying that he would call the rangers himself. I never saw him again for the rest of my shift, so I don’t know whether he was successful or not.

I’m glad I came and I met a lot of nice people, both my coworkers and guests. I’m going to miss every one of them when I leave.  There have been so many kind and thoughtful people. A woman asked me a for a comment card a few days ago. She wanted to thank the maintenance workers who came to help her in her cabin. But, all in all, I’m going to be happy to head home. I’m homesick for my parents and our pets and, I’m ready to start the next phase of my life, hopefully as a successful author.

8-30-20

“Can we bring our dog inside?”

“Sorry, no,” I said, slightly muffled through my mask. “One of you will have to stay outside with her.” I glanced at the chihuahua wearing a pink tutu and then at the mother and son owners.

“Great!” the mother said and began gathering up her dog in her arms.

I wondered if they were able to tie the dog to the leg of the table next to me. I was brought back to reality as the mother held out the dog to me.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “She’s friendly.”

For the last three weeks, a new duty was added to the my job at the front desk. Not only would we be checking people in, but we also have to spend several days a week working as door greeters. The idea for the job is simple. Someone stands outside the door and counts people in and out with a tally counter. A second employee stands nearby and answers questions, so the counter doesn’t get distracted.

The above story was an incident from a few weeks ago, when we first started as door greeters. I was working a morning shift, when a mother and son came up with their dog and thought I was offering to hold her on my lap, while they went inside. Needless to say, I was startled. Luckily, they realized that I was not, in fact, willing to dog sit for them. Instead, one went in while the other stayed with the dog, much to my relief.

“You need to wear a mask inside the building,” our location manager said to two guests.

“We have a medical condition and we’re hungry.”

This was another day at the front door. I was answering questions off to the side, when I became aware of our location manager stopping a couple from walking in the exit door to avoid the line. The two wanted food and they cited a medical condition for not wearing them. This is not allowed for this year. If you want to go into the building, you have to wear a mask. But, what were these poor people going to do? They were refusing point blank to wear masks. The location manager headed inside, telling me to keep count of people going in and out, and went to find a Food and Beverage manager, who took their orders and payment outside. At least they got their food, even if they couldn’t step into the building themselves.

It is interesting watching human behavior as I monitor the doors. We can only let 120 people in at a time, not counting on duty employees. Most people will wait patiently in line, until I tell them they can go in. Then, there are people that try and walk in without waiting and sneak into other doors. They don’t want to wait like everyone else and try to make up some excuse over why we should like them in before everyone else. As far as I know, no employee has fallen for that yet.

I know this is a weird year and that everyone just wants the world to return to normal. I’m certainly ready for normal. Until then, I’ll just be a front desk agent and part time door greeter. Just, please remember, stay safe and well out there and no pets in the hotel.

Every author wants to be noticed. I am no exception. Like most people, I research authors, check out their books, and see what they’re up to. At the end of June, I was goggling an author named Christopher Paolini. You might have heard of him. He’s the author of the Eragon series. It’s a great series. It’s about a farm boy named Eragon and his bonded dragon partner Saphira going out to defeat an evil king who usurped the throne. During that time, I was talking to my mom on the phone and saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if I wrote to him? I mean, I’m working in Yellowstone and he lives in Montana. A letter wouldn’t have to travel that far.” My mom’s response was, “Well? Why don’t you?”

That had me thinking. I had intended my comment as a joke, but my mom took me seriously. Maybe I should contact him. So, that’s what I did. I spent the next two days crafting a letter to Christopher Paolini. Once I was satisfied, I signed it and mailed it off, wondering if I would ever hear back. I did.

Last week, I was walking by the post office and decided to check, not really expecting anything. I actually found a response from Paolini! In my letter, I gave him a plot summary of Silver Rose and asked for writing and marketing advice. Paolini responded with the latter. He told me to get involved in a writing group so they could read and critique my work. I should also think about reading my work out loud, so I could hear what it sounded like. I’ve actually done that one before. It does help, because then you can catch awkward sentences and phrasing. Most importantly of all, Paolini congratulated on getting my book self published and wished me luck. Christopher Paolini really is a kind and helpful person. He probably gets hundreds if not thousands of fan letters a day. He could have ignored me, but instead chose to give advice to a newbie author. Thank you, Christopher Paolini. I really appreciated it.

Earlier this month, I returned to Yellowstone, this time to work at the front desk of one of the hotels. Previously, I had worked in two separate delis in the Park, but this time, upper management was willing to give me a chance in a different department. I’ve never worked at the front desk of any hotel, so I was looking forward to getting training.

We got to Yellowstone and for four days we learned about checking people in and out, how to make reservations, and even how to book activities, like horseback rides. It was a lot to take in, but now that I’ve been doing it for two weeks, it seems to be getting a bit easier. There’s still the odd request and I have to get a manager or senior’s help, but at least I’m remembering the basics.

It is hard to get used to a new job sometimes, but I really hope I’m doing well. I just have to remember what our trainer said and I’m paraphrasing, “You will make mistakes and that’s okay. Everyone starts at the beginning.” Good advice. With this job, like with writing, I will make mistakes, tons of them, but that’s the only way to learn. I got the hang of writing enough to write and self publish Silver Rose, I can learn how to run a front desk in a hotel. All it takes is practice.

At the end of April, I got a call from Yellowstone, wanting to talk to me about my possible employment there. Given the fact that Yellowstone’s start date was pushed back, I wasn’t too surprised. They would hardly need me in late April, if they weren’t going to open until June. I talked to the Yellowstone representative and she told me that they were still considering me for the front desk at one of their hotels. The next day, I got an email confirming it. My brother will be working in their cafeteria. We’ll be flying out to Montana in early June.

From what I understand, things are going to be run a little differently this year. I’ve seen a closure list and I know that only the Old Faithful Lodge and the Snow Lodge will be open in the Old Faithful area. And even then, it’s strictly the cabins. I heard that there’s going to be a skeleton crew this year, because few people will be staying. Everyone had to alter their reservations, even my uncle, who visits Yellowstone once a year. I’ll be there at the front desk to check him in when he arrives.

I don’t know the other restrictions this year, except that all food will be takeout and the cabins have their own bathrooms. What I do know is that this year will be an adventure. A short adventure, at only four months, but an adventure nonetheless. My mom has said that she would like to be a fly on the wall, just so she could see what it’s like.