Fun

One thing that I have always loved about our employees and regular customers at Jake's is their ability to have fun. One of the most prominent things that you will hear after the clinking sound of people eating their food is the sound of laughter.

One day, as I was pouring coffee, I ran across a man who informed me that it was his first time in at Jake's. He told me that he loved the atmosphere that he felt when he walked in. "Do you pay those guys to sit at the counter and laugh?", he asked. He was referring to the group of guys who come by from time to time in the morning to have coffee and just hang out. There is always some sort of banter going on between them and our waitstaff.

I remember one such time where the guy at the counter was giving one of the girls a hard time so she took out a napkin and wrote on it. 'Today is serve yourself day'. The quick witted customer wrote underneath that 'Today is tip yourself day'.

Wednesday, as I walked through the waitress station, I found both waitresses in tears laughing. "You need to reign in your other waitress", said one, "She is asking men of the cloth if they are wearing underwear.".

I looked at the other waitress, Penny, whose laugh is one of the most infectious that I have ever encountered. Between cackles, Penny explains, "I walked up to the table and asked if they all had silverware. One of them said, Underwear, of course I have underwear.".

I looked out into Penny's section to see the two Catholic Priests along with some of their parishioners. One of them asked Penny if she always asked people if they wore underwear. Penny's quick wit brought back, "I usually wait until their fourth visit before I asked that.".

Having fun while you work definitely makes the job much easier.

Clam Chowder and Precious People

Yesterday, we participated in the local Clam Chowder cook off event for support the troops at Bend Villa Court. It was a very interesting experience for me as I watched the various restaurants vie for the Clam Chowder title. Last years proud winner brought his trophy with him to show us all who the defending champion was. He also was vocal in his anger that the radio station had mentioned that they thought last years winner was us. He accused Jim of paying the radio station for that comment.

I went to the event to support Jim primarily. After all, he was doing this all on his own and other than the cost of material, I did not have allot invested in it. Competition is always a funny thing in that it brings out things in people. I remember someone saying that I should be trying to get people to go just to vote for us. I said, 'No, if we win, we win.". There was not allot of interaction going on between contestants except for one young girl from one of the restaurants who seemed to be there not because of her culinary skills but because of other assets that she had. Another of the Chefs there assisted her in her set up and she just served and smiled.

Local celebrities voted along with people who came and paid to sample the various fare that was laid out and then was give one vote to put on their favorite. Jimmy was the only one there who brought two types of Chowder, Manhattan and New England. This came to be our bane, however, in that we ended up competing against ourselves. I believe this might have been the thing that kept us from the people's award. I believe our votes combined would have out shadowed the winner and from my assessment of the ticket cups, we were very close to being second and third in the running. I think Jim will rethink this one next year even though many people seemed smitten by his Manhattan. We are considering putting that same Manhattan on the menu from time to time, however because of it's high praises.

Through all of the competition, there was a vision before the event even started that hit me the most. And it did not have anything at all to do with the conversation, but a whole lot to do with friendship. Two dear sweet ladies who obviously lived there, were in conversation in front of us and that conversation was so incredibly sweet that Judy just had to capture it in picture form. I am affected by this picture every time that I look at it. We must get it blown up and reprinted to give to both of this sweet ladies.

End of Summer Cruise

The day started out like many of those days do. Lots of small problems that seemed to distract you from getting everything all together. One of the biggest was when our bookkeeper, Summer called me to inform me that there was a virus in her computer. I stopped by to see what I could do but it became quite evident that this one was way above me so I had her call our computer guy in. I figured that it could not be that bad. It ended up costing us almost what it would have cost us to purchase a new computer. Who ever created this virus is attempting to force people into purchasing their software. Shouldn't there be a crime against something like that?

Anyway, I focused on the event and let the computer guy do his job. Mid afternoon, I was pretty tired so I stopped by the house and took a power nap. Refreshed after just a few minutes, I headed down to the diner in my new Model A and put it in the line. Shortly there after more and more of the A's showed up and we had ourselves a pretty good looking line.

We decided to run the BBQ outside this time to help with the flow of things and it turned out to be a very good decision. Judy did an outstanding job of assigning jobs to the various members of the High Desert A's and Jimmy set up his BBQ and started cooking. Everything seemed in place for a pretty good evening.

Five thirty came along very fast and the line began to form for the BBQ. The line went almost all the way to the entrance of the parking lot. The feeding soon began with BBQ Sirloin and Chicken, Corn on the cob, Chili beans, French bread, Salad, and Watermelon. Some of the guys were serving while others ran drinks. Still others sold 50/50 raffle tickets. People were eating all over the place, inside, outside on the deck, and around their cars. As I walked around, all seemed to be quite happy with their meals.

Shortly, the band showed up. I stopped to say hi to Richard Taelour who always sets up the bands for our events here. I dubbed them the Taelour project as he has brought a variety of musicians who have played for bands such as Steve Miller, Three Dog Night, and The Righteous Brothers. He informed me that my friend Jeff Ingram who sometimes drums for Meryl Haggard was going to be there. And then he said that he had a special guest. One who has played in many bands, has won a Grammy award, and is considered one of the best steel guitarist in the world. His have is Ken Emerson and the is his my space which states his playing at Jake's on that night.

Everything seemed perfect as the band began to play and the food kept being served. And as a matter of fact, it was. This was the first event that I have ever had where there was absolutely no problems to solve. My job is to walk around looking for those problems and solving them as I see them. I ended up just walking around and talking to people all night long.

As the sun began to set and the moon shown brightly, the night was a complete success with people staying on after dark just to hear the bands last sets before they closed up for the night.

A good night benefiting a good cause, a scholarship fund for automotive students at COCC. I believe this to be the beginning of many years of good end of summer cruise ins with the High Desert A's and Jake's.

Coming up real soon, the World Series of Holdem for Habitat. October 5 & 6. The main prize of two nights on the Oregon Coast at the beautiful Sandcastle Motel and two passes to the Marine Discovery Tour in Newport will be given to the winner of the main event on the second day.

$18,000 and still going strong

Second place again for the second week in a row. We started with three full tables of dedicated players. It is a bit overwhelming to think of it but last week, we went over the $18,000 mark and I don't see any letting up in the near future.

The pink frog has been my good luck charm for the last two weeks. Three weeks ago, I started playing with it and I was the first one out. A couple that have joined us recently, John and Mindy joked about my frog so I told them it was coming back strong the next week. So that is what brought me to using it again for the last two weeks.

A kiss of the frog seems to be a kiss of death. Everyone who has attempted this feat for the last two weeks has been taken out by me. Frank decided to defy the odds tonight and boldly gave the pink frog a kiss. A few hands later and I took him out, giving me a healthy stack of chips for the final table.

Choosing your marker wisely, I realize, does not guarantee you a win but it is does make the game a bit more fun. I look around the table and see silver coins, dogs, bears, pirates, and many other odd and unusual markers. I actually have quite a few that I enjoy using and Jayden, my grandson is always looking for more for me.

Each week, we inch closer and closer to our big game of the year. The World Series of Holdem for Habitat which is to on the first Monday and Tuesday of October. We have yet to secure the prizes but I am sure we will be able to get what we have had the last two years, a trip to the Oregon Coast.

You still have a chance to qualify in the next few weeks or one last time on the first night of the big event where every table is a final table and the highest place player who has not qualified will then qualify for Tuesday night and the Main event. You can join us any Monday night at 6:30 PM in the back room at Jake's.

I am Free

I recieved the call late Sunday evening. I almost did not answer it since the caller ID said 'blocked'.

It was Dr. Foster from Gloster calling me to let me know that all is clear. On all three spots, they were able to cut out all of the cancer. I let out a big sigh of relief inside since I was beguinning to wonder what was taking them so long.

It certainly was outstanding news to end a very busy Sunday. News that I promised to pass on and am so doing. Now, if we could just do something about the insomnia.

A hike along the river

We got a bit of a late start this morning but got away with nine of us in all. We drove out to a small campground along the Metolius for the start and realized the heat before we even took a foot down the trail. I positioned my self in the middle because there were young people in both the front and rear groups and with the river as rapid as it was, I wanted to be in the right spot in case of any emergency.

But, as we walked the dynamics of the group changed as the river did itself. The views along the river were quite stunning and with the clear cold water, you could see the bottom of the river most of the way.

Judy, Chris, and Cindy all had nice cameras with them and were stopping quite often to take pictures of the beauty of the river. Knowing that the hike was fairly long (2.8 miles), I decided that my best place to be was up front keeping the pace going along the way. The two boys, Jayden and Darien stayed up with me with Andrea, Cindy, Crystal and her young daughter, Chloe in the middle. Judy and Chris kept up the rear as they stopped for pics quite often.

I enjoyed the banter of the two boys as they imagined all sorts of animals around us. "Papa, I think I saw a rattler in the bushes back there. The bush moved and made a strange sound.". They both spoke with much knowledge of different snakes, lizards, squirrels,and a variety of bugs. As we approached the fish hatchery, they both could not hold on any longer and ran off into the outlining trees for a bit of relief. As Jay came back to the path, he announced that their was a lot of poison Ivy around. He showed Darien how to tell if the plant was poison ivy or not. Of course, I don't really believe their was any such plant there but I was not about to dispute these bright young minds.

We arrived at the hatchery and found a nice shaded table to eat our lunch together right next to the pond with all of the big fish in it and I enjoyed Chloe's eyes as she spied the large trout in the pond. We all ate our meals and I thoroughly enjoyed my peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with some jerky and trail mix. The kids finished early and took some quarters over to get fish food to feed the fish.

We decided that it would be smarter if Cindy and I hiked back to get the cars and Judy decided to join us in our hike. So, we said our goodbyes to the group and headed off back down the trail I decided to keep a brisk pace so that we would not be out all day and soon left the two girls way behind. It gave me the ability to take some nice breaks in the shade along the way. On one stop, Judy decided to cool herself off with the cold river. The spot where you step down was loaded with bees. Now, normally, she would be jumping around with bees around like that, but she just stood there ignoring the bees who in turn ignored her. She splashed the cold water on the neck, face, hands, and legs and then stepped back onto the path and off we went again.

The closer we got to the cars, the more my stitches began to ache. I was very happy when I saw the cars coming into view.

We got to the cars and Judy rode with Cindy in her air conditioned car while I put the top down on Judy's convertible. As I drove past the store at Camp Sherman, I thought it a good idea to stop there on the way out for ice cream. The girls had the same exact thought and when we arrived back at the hatchery, were asking the rest how they felt about that.

After a few brief stops for photos, we all jumped into the cars and headed back to the store. Making our purchases, we all walked over to the river where years ago, I would take my lunch breaks after delivering candy to that same store for the then Sherfy candy company. I remember feeding the fish the bread from my sandwiches and how fun it was to see them fight over it. Nowadays they have proper fish food as they do at the hatchery and there are no where near as many fish as their used to be. I believe they liked the bread better.

I noticed Chloe who was eating her ice cream sandwich or at least the part that was not running down the front of her shirt, watching me eat my chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. I asked her if she wanted a bite and ended up sharing the rest of mine with this incredibly cute little girl. We all enjoyed her banter throughout the day and sharing my ice cream with her just made my day complete.

Upon arrival back and heading home, there were no arguments in our house as to who got the shower first. I would just have to wait my turn. But, oh, that shower felt so good. After washing off all of the grim, I went back to the diner to insure that steak night was going as planned. I had the cook make me up a turkey wrap for dinner. I have really come to enjoy the turkey, lettuce, tomato, and avocado wrapped up in a flour tortilla and dipped in Cholula Ranch dressing. But upon getting home, I realized that Jay was still there and was planning on spending the night. So the wrap went in the fridge for tomorrow and we went off for pizza.

Now, much later, Judy has gone off to bed, Jay is playing some video games and I am enjoying a couple of scoops of Peach Ice Cream. Normally I don't buy Peach but as I stared at it the other day at Safeway, a young woman and her small bright eyed daughter told me that it was a very good choice so I got it. It has come to be a very special end of the night treat for me.

Mid Week Thoughts

I seemed to be healing better every day. Actually, sometime around Monday, I lost my limp and was able to get up and down out of chairs pretty good. You would never know anything happened to me now if you saw me. I still have to be careful when lifting heavy things. I was in Fred Meyers with Judy yesterday and a woman asked me to lift something for her as she had just had surgery. Judy laughed and said that so had I but knew that I was going to anyway. I already had the case of water into the bottom of her cart before she could say anything....besides, her surgery was much harder than mine. I admired the fact that she was out shopping instead of laying around. I think certain activity helps in the healing process as long as you don't over do.

Tomorrow, we will be taking a hike with some of our crew members. This was something that we started the summer before the truck stop closed down to help bring the crew together in events outside of the diner. But, the work and intensity of taking over the business stopped this event. Judy has just revived it and we will be taking our first hike. One that will be fairly easy along the Metolious River past Camp Sherman. It is around an hour hike past some of the springs that feed the river and ending up at Wizard Falls Fish hatchery where we will have a bite before heading back to our cars and home. This should be a fairly good hike for our families with small children. Judy and I went out to get our hiking food yesterday and she is packing me one of my favorite old simple sandwiches that brings back so many memories, Peanut Butter and Jelly.

The email that the National Restaurant Association sent me letting me know that I was one of the finalists had all of the other finalists emails attached to it. I thought about this for a second and sent a reply to all back, congratulating them all and thanking them for their individual contributions. Before I knew it, I was receiving emails from all over the country including New Orleans, Chicago, Michigan, and Oklahoma to mention just a couple. All have invited us to visit if we are ever around. It feels good to have other kindred spirits in the country.

Finally, I was walking around the diner pouring coffee on Tuesday. I said Hi to a friend at one table and a man at the next sat up with a start. I apologised for startling him. "Are you Jake?", he asked. "Well, yes and no.", came my answer, "I am Lyle.". "I know that.", he said, "I recognised your voice.". I hear you on the radio all of the time. I love your ads. The come across as so sincere and guess what? Everything you say is true.". I listened as he continued. "This is my first time in. As I walked in the door, I spied three guys sitting at the counter laughing. Do you pay those guys to do that? It made me feel so at ease. And your staff is so friendly and your food tastes so good. I will surely be back for more.". I thanked him and brought Judy over to meet Bob of whom I certainly hope will be added to the list of friends that I have met in the years of running Jake's. People like that validate you and inspire you to do your job to the best of your abilities. It is the Bobs and Staceys or the Anns, Mikes, Dianes, Bills, Richards, Lous, and Gayles of the world that inspire you to do better and end up becoming more than just customers, but close friends. I am so incredibly grateful for those and so many other names that if I tried to mention all would list so long.