I have been told that THIS ONE is my very best story ever!!! This is completely true, another prime example of the wacky circumstances life throws at me.
BACKGROUND:
When I was 19, 2 friends and I responded to the call of a newspaper ad seeking "Chambermaids" for the Voyageur Inn in Banff, AB. In about 2 weeks we arranged our affairs and we were off for our first huge adventure away from home. We had no idea what to expect but it didn't matter.
PLAYA'S:
- Me
- Jan (friend)
- Pam (friend and Jans sister)
- Mick the Bartender
- Mick the Bellboy
It was our first payday from working at the hotel. Jan, Pam and I had made our move with only a few dollars each and had been broke since we got there, the past 2 weeks had been a little tough and we vowed that with our first paycheck that we would go get SMASHED!! So we decided to go bar hopping, even though Jan and I had to work at 5:30 am the next day.
We started at the Hotel because Pam had a crush on the bartender Mick and we thought maybe we could cajole him into having a few drinks with us. The previous evening we had gone to his condo for dinner and it was there that Pam had confessed her affection for the cute (& older...28 or 29 which is "older" when you're 19!) drink slinger and we thought it was great since she never really had a boyfriend and had never REALLY been kissed! Anyway, he agreed to meet up with us after his shift was over. We also invited the crazy alcoholic bellboy, also named Mick, just because he was a lot of fun. And really cute. So off we went.
We had a BLAST! I don't even remember most of the night, just that at that time, Long Island Ice Tea was my main drink and I even threw in, really, too many $2 paralyzers to the mix. We went to quite a few bars and I don't remember when 'bartender Mick' actually entered the picture, and 'bellboy Mick' had apparently passed out drunk in the lobby of the hotel a few hours ago, but somewhere around closing time Jan and I realized we had to be at work in a few hours and wanted to stagger back to our pad.
Pam and Mick were really hitting it off, and seemed to be getting pretty snuggly and touchy. When Jan and I told her we wanted to get going, she looked at us with this look I can't explain but will never forget, and she said she and Mick were going to stay out for a while.
Now, the day we arrived at the Hotel, we were taken aside by our supervisor Nancy who had informed us that within weeks of our arrival, a female employee who worked at our hotel had been raped and murdered after hooking up with a stranger, and we were actually cautioned that Banff was the rape capital of Western Canada so be really careful when we were out.
Having this in mind, and realizing we really didn't know much about this guy, I told Pam "great, have fun, but I am going to wait up for you, and we have to work in the morning, so PLEASE don't be too late." Jan and I made the 5 mile stumble home and decided to listen to tunes and wait for Pam.
We waited...and waited...and waited. Jan passed out cold, I sat there on my bed, frequently drifting into a half concious slumber, and getting more worried every time I looked at the clock. Jan and I had to be at work at 5:30. Finally at 4:30 ish I lost it. I had kinda drifted off and when I opened my eyes and looked at the time I FREAKED! I went and jumped on Jan.
"Jan! It's 4:30 and Pams not home yet! Oh my God! What could have happened!"
Jan was a mess. We were running around trying to get dressed to go looking for her but I think we were both STILL drunk, running in circles like headless chickens. I was so worried, thinking somewhere out there our friend was missing or even worse.
I sat down on my bed to put on my shoes, our ground floor window slid open and suddenly a projectile whizzed awfully close to my head. I looked. A SHOE! Then another. Then Pam herself. I couldn't believe it. I was beside myself with worry and immediately started to give her CRAP for not coming home.
"do you know how worried we were about you...I told you I was going to wait...what the hell happened...I waited up all night... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!!!!!"
Then I stopped ranting for a second and just looked at her.
Her really really long, really really curly, blonde hair was completely messed up and full of dirt and leaves. She had muddy tear streaks down her face, A cut on her eyebrow bone, her white sweater was ripped all down the front.
For a minute, she just looked at me with this blank look on her face. Then she SAID EVER SO MATTER OF FACTLY...
" I got hit by an elk"...then she started to cry!
We all sat down and Pam told us of the events surrounding her brutal attack.
She and bartender Mick had decided to go back to his condo which at the time was a fairly new development, and his new condo was built on a spot where Elk had their previous grazing grounds. And it was also Elk season, so every morning a huge herd of Elk traipsed down to his backyard and grazed and slept...whatever Elk do.
Well she and Mick never *actually* made it to his condo. Being all drunk and smitten with each other, they decided home couldn't wait...nothing more romantic than being spontaneous and having a makeout session in the beauty of the outdoors!!
So there they were, makin out all hot and heavy...When the sun broke to greet the day, they were ALSO greeted by a very hairy family of Elk. They were right on top of BIG PAPA ELKS little piece of property and HE WAS PISSED! The big papa elk charged them both, Pam first I think, his huge antler narrowly missing her eye and ripping her shirt right open. I guess she was thrown quite a distance. Mick wasn't so lucky, nursing broken ribs and being thrown even further than Pam. I don't remember ALL the details of the attack, but it was bad enough. And remember, she never really had a boyfriend and had never REALLY been kissed!
Then Pam told us it got worse. Her purse, keys, cashed paycheque, and other stuff were still there in the bushes, and that WE needed to go get it! "Why didn't you grab it before you left", we asked. She said "because the big papa elk was lying right on top of it!".
ACK!!!
But we were detemined to get Pams purse back for her. Her whole check was in there, she came through the window because her keys were there too. This was not good! Jan and I had to be at work in like a half an hour now. We got dressed and made the 3 block trek to the crime scene.
There were elk EVERYWHERE. Big elks, medium elks, baby elks...There were at least 30 of them...we couldn't get closer than a half a block away, everytime we came near they would come closer too. We would back off and they would back off. We came closer and they would come closer. It was like a stand off. This drew some negative attention from big papa. We could see the little patch of tree and foliage where the purse supposedly was with a massive set of antlers protruding out, we were terrified to confront the big beast and had no idea how to retrieve the target.
We tried to scare them by running at them screaming and flailing our arms. That was fruitless. They just looked at us like "pffffttt. IIIIIIIIdiots!". We tried to circle around the back and find another way, but there WAS no other way. And papa hadn't budged. We found a shopping cart with one broken wheel and tried running down the street with it, pushing as fast as we could and trying to send it into the herd, sending them all fleeing in terror. But that didn't work either.
Time was ticking, we couldn't be late for work! Nancy was a tyrant and would fire anyone for anything at any time. We were about at our wits end when we heard this drunken howling echoing through the empty street. "What the heck is that??". Barely visible down the road we could see Bellboy Mick, staggering through the street, bouncing off the curbs, still in his bellboy uniform from the night before. (Remember he had passed out in our hotel lobby the night before?) He was singing really loud, reeked like booze, and seemed really happy to see us. We asked him if he had spent the whole night passed out on the lobby floor and he said yes. He also said he thought he was probably fired now, imagine that!
We told him of our dilemma and that we soon had to be at work, and he valiantly stepped up as our hero! Without any hesitation or fear, he ran straight through the herd to the bush, quickly found the purse and promptly returned it to us with a huge grin. I never saw Bellboy Mick again but I will NEVER forget that morning, his crumpled uniform or the grin he flashed when he handed me the purse. It was classic!
My employment at the hotel only lasted about 2 more weeks, but that was one of the best times of my life! So I hope you enjoyed my best "one time" ever!
The End!