26 June 2014

Happy Thursday!

Today I read in a Bar Harbor visitor’s guide that a few of the scenes from the movie Shutter Island were shot here on Mount Desert Island. Waking up to wind and rain the morning made me feel somewhat like we were experiencing the same storm depicted in the movie. Fortunately, neither the Jordan Pond House dorm nor Mount Desert Island is reserved for the criminally insane as the buildings and island are in the movie. Or are they? If I see Leonardo in a fedora running around I’ll be a little suspicious. He sure had a tough time in the movie figuring stuff out about what Shuttle Island is actually about…See the movie if you don’t get the reference here. Right before you watch it, Google pictures of Otter Cliffs and then look for them in the film.

Because of the rain, things were slow today at work. With completion of the north parking lot construction late yesterday afternoon and the bad weather today, we had an exponential decrease in negative feedback about parking. So that’s a plus I suppose.

While eating lunch, the wire behind my bottom teeth managed to dislodge itself from one of the anchor points. As a result, I suddenly had a sharp wire poking my tongue. I quickly learned that dental emergencies are not something you should have on Mount Desert Island. One of the three dental clinics told me they couldn’t help because the dentist just went on maternity leave. The one that office referred me to couldn’t get me in until Tuesday. They aren’t open on Fridays and had no space on Monday. If not Tuesday, the next available appointment would be on July 1. The final office on the island straight up didn’t answer their phone during their normal business hours. Plus, according to their voicemail greeting, they aren’t open on Fridays either. I finally tracked down an office that will be able to get me in for a quick fix…on Monday…in Ellsworth 45 minutes away.

To remedy my dental problem, I rode the free Island Explorer shuttle into Bar Harbor after work to get some dental wax. I have now successfully separated my tongue and the pointy wire. They weren’t playing together very nicely, and after several hours of contact, my tongue was beginning to lose badly.

While in town, I stopped by to check on Luke at the ice cream shop. He kindly let me sample the Mocha Oreo. I sort of wish we sold ice cream at the info booth. Although I suppose that would be too long of a job title if we did. I’d be known as an “Ice Cream Scooping Information and Reservation Agent.”

While in town, I also went to the public library to get my library card. There the librarian, Mrs. Woodside, pleasantly guided me through the application process and then spent a good chunk of time answering my question about what books I need to read to understand the island and Acadia. I told her that I work at the Jordan Pond House information booth and wanted to be able to answer visitor questions.

As I checked out my books we got to talking a bit. During the course of the conversation, she casually mentioned that her husband is the president of the Acadia Corporation—the company which lost the National Park Service contract bid last spring to operate the Jordan Pond House for the next 10 years. Now, I am not interested in throwing my opinions out onto the web regarding that topic.  If anyone is allowed to have an opinion on the bid outcome, however, it’s her. 

Mrs. Woodside as an individual has my utmost respect.She graciously equipped me with resources to become better at my job of helping visitors to the Jordan Pond House understand and appreciate this place. Her actions today effectively showed that she is much more interested in upholding the tradition and dignity of the Jordan Pond House than she is in projecting any personal frustrations or anger she has on me as a new seasonal worker for a company she probably doesn’t care for after the bid outcome.

Unsurprisingly, she also promised to put up one of our ACMNP worship service posters after I asked. I heard that she and her husband are Christians and have been very accommodating for ACMNPers they’ve employed in the past. Today, Mrs. Woodside certainly exhibited the very Christian idea of not letting anger and frustration be what controls and dictates her life and actions. Rather, she exhibited grace and compassion because I’m sure she recognizes that the God she serves has showered onto her so much grace and compassion that there is no room left for anger and frustration in her life.

This evening I read one of the books Mrs. Woodside recommended, The Story of Mount Desert Island. It was a nice and short one so I finished it in about two hours. That means my completed book tally for this summer is up to two already!

Today’s picture of the day is a shot of all the books and DVD’s I came home from the library with. Enjoy!