urbpan | 3:00 snapshot #698

When we have a staff-only event at the zoo, a lot of the time we get ice from the concession stand. I realized almost too late before the movie night I planned, that the concession stand and gift shop have earlier hours in winter, and that I had to hurry if I wanted to catch someone. I got to the gift shop first (gift shop and concession stand are run by the same folks) just as the guy was cashing out. We agreed that the concession stand was probably closed already, and I should try to get ice from the machine near the gift shop.

The clerk left his closing out procedure aside (which, as a former retail clerk, I really appreciated--I hated to be interrupted during that) and opened the padlock to the ice shed. Unfortunately, the door was blocked with deep snow; he went and got their snow shovel which was a sorry broken thing. I found a long straight bar of wood (handrail?) and helped jab the half-frozen snow. Eventually we got the door open a crack.

I wedged into the shed and opened the ice machine. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't on, and probably had been unplugged since October. By this time the guy who had just closed up the concession stand showed up. I explained my need for ice, and he stayed to close the gift shop and sent the other clerk with me down to the restaurant to get ice. Those guys were really nice above and beyond what they had to do.

As it turned out, no one showed up to movie night. But I had plenty of ice.