Tribute to the unsung hero ~ The Liftie!

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

The most awesome liftie at my local resort.................JD!
This guy is the one who keeps the maze in order at the High Speed(Clipper).
He sings songs, tells jokes and keeps every chair full.

Two years ago, JD wasn't there at the start of the season. I asked about him, and everyone said he was going to be out of commission for a while from an injury.
When JD returned, he wasn't at his usual post, but instead, in the booth at the top of the Clipper.
Happened to be eating lunch while he was on lunch break, so we invited him to eat with us.

No Voice, well, not JD's voice, but a little squeaky voice. He had been in an ATV accident during the summer. His Quad landed on his neck, crushing his wind pipe. Being alone out there, he took a broken piece of the plastic fender, and stabbed himself in the throat to perform a trach on himself. :0
Using his fingers to keep the hole open, he walked out a couple miles, to a road, flagged a truck down and had the guy call 911.
Being out in the "can't get there from here" area of Michigan, it took a while for the ambulance to find him. (more to the story about the lack of help the guy he flagged down, really was, but that's not what this is about)

JD was flown to U of M Hospital for specialists to determine if he'd ever eat or speak again.(WOW there is a lot to this story) They said no. He would be on a feeding tube forever and never speak, but He is alive.
A couple months later, he started to plug his breathing hole in his neck to see if he could force himself to breath normally.(this was against doc's orders) After doing this for a while and becoming adept at normal breathing, he started to play with applesauce. He'd swallow it and it would come out the hole, so he'd try again. After a while he was actually eating!!!!(soft foods only)
When he went back to the doc. he showed him what he was doing. The doc said NO WAY!!!! JD say WAY!!!
He can speak now, (Just not with his big voice) and they got him a bull horn to use. Back at his job, making everyone happy!

I love JD!

Wow

 

[AdironRider]

Slim at Targhee is a pretty cool character.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Slim at Targhee is a pretty cool character.

Does he have a moustache?

 

[AdironRider]

Cant remember off the top of my head, but he always wore a cowboy hat and looked real "western" like. I think they profile him on their website.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

Holy Moly on that JD story by Trekchik. I fainted after the self performed trach.

 

[bvibert]

The most awesome liftie at my local resort.................JD!
This guy is the one who keeps the maze in order at the High Speed(Clipper).
He sings songs, tells jokes and keeps every chair full.

Two years ago, JD wasn't there at the start of the season. I asked about him, and everyone said he was going to be out of commission for a while from an injury.
When JD returned, he wasn't at his usual post, but instead, in the booth at the top of the Clipper.
Happened to be eating lunch while he was on lunch break, so we invited him to eat with us.

No Voice, well, not JD's voice, but a little squeaky voice. He had been in an ATV accident during the summer. His Quad landed on his neck, crushing his wind pipe. Being alone out there, he took a broken piece of the plastic fender, and stabbed himself in the throat to perform a trach on himself. :0
Using his fingers to keep the hole open, he walked out a couple miles, to a road, flagged a truck down and had the guy call 911.
Being out in the "can't get there from here" area of Michigan, it took a while for the ambulance to find him. (more to the story about the lack of help the guy he flagged down, really was, but that's not what this is about)

JD was flown to U of M Hospital for specialists to determine if he'd ever eat or speak again.(WOW there is a lot to this story) They said no. He would be on a feeding tube forever and never speak, but He is alive.
A couple months later, he started to plug his breathing hole in his neck to see if he could force himself to breath normally.(this was against doc's orders) After doing this for a while and becoming adept at normal breathing, he started to play with applesauce. He'd swallow it and it would come out the hole, so he'd try again. After a while he was actually eating!!!!(soft foods only)
When he went back to the doc. he showed him what he was doing. The doc said NO WAY!!!! JD say WAY!!!
He can speak now, (Just not with his big voice) and they got him a bull horn to use. Back at his job, making everyone happy!

I love JD!

He's no ordinary liftie, he's a super liftie. Ask him if he wants to move to CT, we could use some of his type out this way.

 

[Telemechanic]

(lifties) are perceived as the least important workers at the resort, the scum, the lowest of the low.

In the ski industry caste system parking lot attendants are the lowest of the low, the true unsung heros.

 

[Trekchick]

Holy Moly on that JD story by Trekchik. I fainted after the self performed trach.

To all of you who have replied in regards to my JD story, he is pretty spectacular.

Picture this..........
He's sitting at our table telling us this story. Scar is extremely evident on his neck.
When he says he used the broken plastic on the Quad to (in his words) "jab it in his throat" and do his own Tracheotomy, all three of us at the table said, in unison........."How do you do that!!?"

His reply....
I have a 2 year old son, and I didn't want him to grow up with out a dad.

 

[Vortex]

The Sr lifties make are BBQ's as well. We also bring fresh BBQ to our bar tenders as well.

 

[severine]

JD sounds like an awesome guy.

I have a lot of appreciation for lifties. Well, most of them.

 

[billski]

I hand it to the employees that go beyond the scope of their job to please the customer. Any business. Like the food service employee at Magic who, upon hearing my disappointment that the ski shop was closed again (in search of a souvenier pin), took my cell number, broke into (figuratively speaking) ski shop, got a pin, called my cell, took my money and gave me the pin. Now that's the kind of service that Stowe dreams it had..

 

[DJAK]

The lifty will be getting some props in an upcoming issue of Powder Mag. Watch for Price Gendron, one of Sunday River's finest (among the others mentioned) to be featured in a fall edition.

Of course Norman is a hoot...

 

[SundayRiver Yeti]

We sure would be sunk without the lifties (and a whole host of other staff too)!

On some of the really, really cold days I am amazed at how they stand out there. .

 

[bigbog]

....

Dennis Parsons was the man! Sugarloaf won't be the same without him.

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