Vanity Plate IPIOF3…… The Story Behind This

 This is under multiple  TAGS and once you have read this you can see why and how the John Denver video also fits. Not afraid to say that I like this song especially during my traveling and back backing days

I have to start off and say that I am a hypocrite. I have always been against VANITY PLATES. I just thought they were stupid and vain and a waste of money. That’s right “IPOIF 3″ is my plate that I paid for.

                                                                                              

Now settle back because I do need to give you a lot of background that will eventually lead to the why.

This all happened in the “Summer of Fun”……I will eventually get around to chronicle this whole Adventure in my Posts. I have already Posted  “Head Up A Dress” earlier.  If you have not read it already take a look…. it’s funny and of course embarrassing to me.

My friend Rog and myself in our mid 20′s  had just recently retired from the Restaurant business to pursue some adventure got hired as cooks in Yellowstone. Rog found the ad and of course it always sounds Great…. work during the day and enjoy seeing and back packing during your free time…… We made the drive out in my 1974  350 Cutlass. Yellowstone is larger than RI and is actually in 3 states. When you do get hired at Yellowstone you have to sign in and go through a sort of indoctrination in the Mammoth area which is on the northern border in Montana (loved those OLYS). We spent I believe 3 days there learning the Yellowstone way… the policies and procedures….. “Be an Ambassador to all the guests”. We got assigned to the “Old Faithful Inn”… now just the Old Faithful area had 3 large Inns. When we arrived we filled out whatever paperwork needed and then got assigned our sleeping quarters affectionately called “The Slums”….. it looked like a prison and we both slept in our sleeping bags on the so called beds. We did meet some “Veterans” probably been there maybe a couple of weeks longer than us….. turn over rate very high because it “SUCKED”. well immediately they mentioned IPIOF to us. That’s enough info for now on that. Thinking because we were from the “Restaurant Game” we would be trained and shown the ropes before being thrown to the wolves and it was Rog’s Birthday we went out and celebrated even though we had to show up at 6 in the morning….it’s amazing what you can do when you are younger and not a OF like I am now.

Got to work….. we are both  a little green at the gills…. being that it was Rog’s BDay I took the more demanding job…. Oh did I forget to tell you “Breakfast” is busiest meal….. you know everybody gets up eats and do their thing….. Now me thinking normal sort of restaurant protocol watch and learn the menu… HOW Effen wrong was I. Besides all the Breakfast entrees having some type of Rockie Mountain or Yellowstone name all the EGG dishes were cooked to order and were 2 eggs apiece….. At this time in my cooking career I was not as adept as I am now in sauteing… taking the pan and flip most of the Breakfasts……. felt out of place….  That’s right “Just was told to go at it by some teenager” It was two 6 Burner stoves with all burners going at once and flipping some type of Yellowstone named egg dish while being chastised by some 19 year old. We went through just the Egg part  36 flats of 36 eggs in 3 hours…No you do the math… Now also remember … even when you are young….. being hungover is still being hungover…. Breakfast was basically over by 1o… we then prepped for the night…. Happy BDAY Rog because it really sucked for me….. Now it is Lunch time… Nobody there…. OH..sorry the dishwasher quit… again being the good guy did dishes… it was slow because  guests all out doing the tourist thing. Done with Lunch… went back to the “Slum”… to just pass out….. Got word the cooks and dishwashers quit..please come in and work… we were troopers and did it…. when our shift was over……. WE also QUIT…. it was not like the Brochure…. We did not need the money anyways…..wanted to backpack…We went out and started to do that and on the 4th of July picked my brother Jim up in Jackson Hole….  Now we would find a lake maybe 8 to 10 miles inland and do our thing for about a week and would come in and buy more supplies and Shit, Shower and Shave (did tell Jim about IPIOF) after one of our jaunts found ourselves in the Old Faithful area, rented a cabin for the night… cleaned up and went out to eat and Yahoo-edit up. This is now like a stupid movie…. Fast forward……  I bought a car from my niece when I got my new License Plate “727KEN”… my name is Ken by the way. It was weird when I did got it. Ever since then people would ask about my VANITY plate… I kept on explaining NO I did not pay for this….a lost cause. Now back to the beginning… We all were feeling GOOD right now when we left the Cowboy Bar…. Rog and Jim were starting to head back to our cabin….Me had a mission…started heading elsewhere. I did a beeline towards Old Faithful… They knew what was up .  They followed my lead… we all jumped the fence and proceeded to walk towards it. Now a fact I learned then “Old Faithful” erupted at the time approximately every 70 minutes and shot up between 10 to 12 thousand gals. of VERY HOT water. Now Old Faithful is crusted up and has a opening of about 4 feet…. That’s Right we Pissed in it.. DUH…Yes stupid. IPIOF… Yes you can fugure it out….Fast Forward again… Been dealing with everybody making comments concerning my License Plate.. Join the damn club…. Now being a OF (Old Fart) trying to do that reliving thing… Bought MY new  VANITY plate IPIOF3.

I am proud to now explain to all the story behind my plate… My brother and Rog… are really cool about it… IT will always bring back and remind us of that SUMMER of FUN that we will always remember through my “VANITY PLATE” ….. Definitely a Midlife reaction on my part….. Seriously like I care… I do hope I entertained you and amused you for a few.