Park City: Skiing the Bunny Slopes

23 February 1984

There wasn’t any snowfall where I grew up, except perhaps in the high reaches of distant mountains.  There were no ski resorts nearby; therefore no opportunities to learn how to ski.

Shortly after we moved to Utah, one of the local TV stations in SLC ran a contest, offering a day of ski lessons at Snowbird.  Viewers were asked to send in a postcard with a few words explaining why they wanted to learn to ski.  I’m not one to enter such contests, but with Mui’s encouragement, I sent in an entry.  Surprise, surprise — I won!  My entry wasn’t a particularly brilliant essay.  I just wrote something along the lines of, “I’ve never had a chance to learn to ski before.”  I can only guess that they must have been short on entrants!

Long story short, I went up to Snowbird with a van-full of contest winners and spent the day on the slopes.  During the morning lesson, I spent more time trying to stay upright on my skis than I did actually skiing.  It was a different story in the afternoon — I was whizzing down the slopes over and over, not taking a single tumble.  The hot chili served during our lunch break must have been spiked with some magic skiing dust or something.

A few weeks later, Mui and I went to Park City, took a lesson together, and conquered the bunny slopes there.

A 52-mile (83-km) drive puts us on the slopes of Park City.

The mountains in Park City are crisscrossed with ski runs.

I never became an aficionado of skiing, but did accompany Mui on day-trips to nearby ski resorts.  A good book; a cup of hot cocoa; a lounge chair in the sun; and beautiful scenery … that became my idea of a good day on the slopes.

An Evening of Elegance

10 February 1984

I have no idea how I got roped into being involved in a fundraiser for Ballet West, Utah’s premier dance company. But there I was, on the committee responsible for organizing an event for just that purpose. I can only guess that my friend Robyn begged me nicely and promised I could stay in the background. As long as I didn’t have to solicit people for donations for the auction or cajole patrons into buying a table for the event, I was up for anything.

The fundraiser lived up to its name — it was truly An Evening of Elegance. Guests were dressed to the nines, dinner was served on fine china, the wine flowed freely, and the music was perfectly suited to the ambiance of historic Hotel Utah.

Here is some of my memorabilia from that evening … you can click any image for a more legible version.

The teaser postcard was designed to pique the curiosity of Ballet West supporters.

A pre-event article designed to give a taste of what's to come.

Tickets were not inexpensive.

This invitation insert listed a sampling of the items for auction.

Pages from the program.

And on the auction block were ...

The post-event article in the Salt Lake Tribune identified Mui as "Doctor Erkun."

A note of thanks for a job well done.

I received one of these posters as a gift.

It was a successful evening by all accounts.