Awaking the giant part II

My little town keeps transforming before my eyes. The city has annoyingly converted the turning lane on Junction and Lazelle streets into another lane going east on Lazelle and north on Junction. You don't go very long without hearing the rumble of a motorcycle. All the cars, cycles, and people are like busy ants preparing all over the main streets filling the town with lots of activity. Main street is coming alive as tattoo parlors and souvenir shoots come back from the dead. The empty parking lots are filling with vendors selling shirts and others selling food. Our quiet and nearly always absent neighbors are moving trailers and picnic tables into their yards. Even my own store is transforming, shedding the front windows for counters to sell over. We're in the process of shifting our merchandise around to prepare for the big week. I'm getting anxious and a little excited as it gets nearer. I'll probably hate a lot of it, but I'll enjoy people watching and making money, of course. Tomorrow I start the 14 (or more) day marathon!

This is Lazelle where they've taken the turning lane to lessen congestion somewhat. I don't know; I kind of liked our turning lane. I hear it's going to take at least half an hour to get across town when it usually takes 5 - 10 minutes. Whoopdedoo.

Awaking the giant

I don't exactly understand the draw. This time of year I see tourists and laugh to myself: "It's funny how they think Sturgis is so cool, because I know it's actually pretty lame." The traffic and congestion around town is getting to be slightly annoying. "Just wait," I tell myself. I can be pretty certain when I see people walking the street, and cars driving around that they are tourists and not locals. The big tents are going up; piles of shirts fill the street corners. A huge three-story saloon has gone up on the corner of Junction and Lazelle which will open tomorrow. It's going to also be a restaurant, but I'm sure glad we're getting another bar; Sturgis definitely needs some more.


I guess the store will be getting busier now. Not this week, but next I'll be working a straight 14 days a week, nine to five. I decided not to work the nine to nine shift because I'd rather not walk home at that time of night. I'll have to work on my wardrobe, making myself look as undesirable as possible, just as an extra precaution. Just kidding, kind of. 


Anyway, I've begun to realize I don't know as much about Sturgis as I thought. Customers bring questions to me:
"Where's the best place to eat?" (yeah, I don't eat out in Sturgis...)
"What kind of food does the Knuckle Saloon have?" (umm....hamburgers? never set foot in the place, actually.)
"Where can I buy boots?" (try sierratradingpost.com)
"What's that one really famous bar?" (just pick one of the 50 bars and call it good?)
"Is there any place that sells actual motorcycles?" (.....blank stare....)
"Where can I find the post office?" ha! just kidding, I know where the post office is.
But seriously, I'm learning more about my town, especially the side I've been contentedly oblivious to most of my life. I'm going to have a fair education of it by the end of this.