THE COMPANY BBQ

How do you get an edible picture of a bus onto a cake?

Paul Revere Transportation, the company that has the transit contract with the National Park Service, gave its employees a BBQ yesterday. Even though I had to report for work around noon, Patty and I stopped by for an hour or so, and had an early lunch. Due to work schedules, many of my co-workers, were arriving at different times, but the burgers, brats, & ribs were always smokin on the grill.

This type of event in America is as common as baseball, and apple pie. It's a way for a company to say thanks to it's employees in a tangible way. What's better than providing free food? Well, maybe a big bonus on the paycheck would be better, but that's probably not going to happen. Speaking of paychecks, I was surprised to find that Paul Revere pays all of its employees for holidays, worked or not. My days off are Sunday & Monday, so I was off on Memorial Day and Independence Day, but still received a days pay. That kind of company benefit is pretty rare for seasonal employees, and I've still got one more holiday coming, before leaving the Grand Canyon
in early September.

As I've mentioned previously, this summer of work for both of us has been an overall positive, and unless something changes our mindset, we'll probably be returning next year. Could this experience turn into another Skagway, where we kept returning each summer for 4 years? It might, as long as we're not coming home each evening complaining about the job, or the public. At this stage of our lives, it's all about enjoying what we're doing, no matter if it's work or play. There's a lot of reasons that working 3 or 4 months here at the Grand Canyon makes a lot of sense to both of us, so we'll just have to see how this plays out during the next few years.