Flashback to 2002, Day 4

February 13, 2002
It must be something in the air - everyone is dragging today. I could barely get myself here and once I arrived, I noticed that everyone else is in about the same shape. Luckily, as soon as the gates open and people start to arrive, we seem to be energized again.
The volunteers structure is well organized. We are all assigned to a team leader, who is under a sector coordinator, who is under other troup leaders who work together with the Venue Director. The team leaders are rotated nightly, but we have the same sector coordinator all the time. She is a wonderful woman named Linda. She was in a particularly bad mood - the team leaders are always beating her up about assignments and some of the volunteers were giving her a hard time about their shifts. She looks like she hasn't slept in a month and I know she doesn't ever take dinner or a break. She has figured out that the IB bunch are a good time, so she hides out with us when she can. And we do our best to cheer her up.
Since we have been working together the past few days, we have worked out a perfectly good balance and are really enjoying each other's company. We try not to bother the team leader and they usually leave us alone. Last night we had a lovely new TL, who helped a little on Monday when I was gone, and she decided that she would really take charge of the lax IB. Within 5 minutes we were referring to her as "Hitler", and one of the other guys said she was a "Red, Type A". We decided she had to go. Through my varied employment experiences I have learned who to befriend quickly. I cornered our trusty Linda and mentioned that I would appreciate her only assigning our friendly team leader to the IB when I was off. She noted my schedule and promised speedy service. The TL was unexpectly assigned to deliver hand warmers and granola bars to the volunteers in the stands. Hurrah!
People often duck into the IB to make cell calls, since the volume at the OMP can reach excessive levels. The best one was a darling guy who was returning a message left by an Orange County newspaper. He said that he didn't know how, but they found out that he was in SLC for the festivities and wanted his personal take on the games. I eavesdropped and heard him give a glowing report about one and all. He said it was beautiful here and everyone was friendly and helpful and he was loving it. That was a relief, especially after all the stuff about that rat, Woody Paige. (Note: Denver newsman who blasted Salt Lake, Mormons, etc. in editorials at the time) When I heard some of his "amusing" comments, I had to wonder if he was actually here. ALL I have heard is extremely positive and most everyone is amazed at how different it is than they expected. We're trying...
The only unhappy camper we had last night was a photographer from Eastman Kodak who was restricted from entering with a large and obviously expensive tripod which exceeded the size limits for poles. Even he was reasonably tolerant, if frustrated, because everyone seems to understand the security problems. You look at everything in a whole new light - when we had a shopping bag left behind the stands we had to call the officers to determine if it was a problem. (It was a little girl's pin trading bag) It's such a pain.
LOST AND FOUND ITEM OF THE DAY: A very nice marquise diamond ring, about a carat. You really have to wonder.
We still haven't had to tend kids, thank goodness! The worst we have had is a couple of frozen 6-7 year olds whose folks brought them in to thaw. You haven't lived until you are stuck in a small tent with socks drying on the only heat source. And in the "What Were You Thinking?" department, the parents who brought a 15 month old who started fussing the minute they took him out of the stroller (they have to be checked - they can't have people rocking on the floor with equipment all over) and they brought him in to settle him down. He would go to sleep, they would walk out into the cold and he would wake up. They hung around longer than I expected, but finally gave up after the medals were given.
I sure hope it warms up soon. Fighting the cold is wearing really thin.