Back
in 1978, I was framing the Beaver Run Condominiums and the
layout man was Jim Rinoshek. Layout is always critical on
large high-rise buildings like Beaver Run, and
coordination between the layout man and me is important. I
respected the way Jim handled himself and enjoyed working
with him. After a period of time, Jim shared with me that
this was a second job for him. He owned and managed one of
the more successful restaurants in town, the St. Bernard
Inn. Later, I discovered there was so much more to this
man than I could have ever imagined.
In
1985, I was watching the county's most popular television
show, GOOD MORNING BRECKENRIDGE, and I suddenly realized
that Jim was the host. However he was role playing aa a
degenerate named Cliff Clower. I had watched the show for
weeks enjoying his sick sense of humor, and never related
the host to being the mild-mannered Jim I knew. After
discussing Jim and his fictitious character, Clifton, with
some friends, I heard all kinds of wild stories about Jim,
and I had obviously only seen a small facet of his
personality. Under the guise of my documentary, I decided
to visit Jim up at his new restaurant, The Terrace, and
explore this interesting and complex individual. I
demanded to know if there was any truth to several rumors
I heard about his crazy past. Jim methodically answers my
questions.
"No,
I don't have a Ph.D., just a Masters from the University
of Chicago, a Masters in English, a Masters in teaching,
and undergraduate work at Brown. I did receive a
scholarship for football and lacrosse. I quit in the
middle of my senior year and student-taught in the middle
of my senior year instead.
"True,
I was asked not to return to Aspen. This was a result of
an incident that occurred back in my salad days, as it
were. I perform what we like to think of as "balletica."
Dancing. Balletica is ballet...We did a little dance
referred to by most people as the anchovy dance; done as
an anchovy would dress, with very little. But he covers
his `privates' with aluminum foil and wraps the rest of
himself in cellophane, clear plastic or whatever. So you
can imagine!
"Aspen
has never been ready for people from Breckenridge! They
like to think, and so does the national media, that Aspen
is where all the wild people go. And I like to think that
is true, but the people who are genuinely out of it from
Breckenridge scare the hell out of the people in Aspen.
They talk about the people in Breckenridge. Once at the
Paragon, I hit the floor with what is dancing to me, but
is convulsions to anybody else. Consequently EMT, police
officers jumped on my back, jumped on my front, turned me
over and started giving me mouth to mouth, pounding on my
heart to get my heart going, called the police, called an
ambulance, alerted the hospital that they were on their
way with a young man with a coronary.
"Of
course I didn't tell them otherwise! I thought it was
pretty funny. I thought it was real funny. Of course when
they found out that I was dancing -- of course I had to
explain my way out of that one. Most of the people laughed
about it, with the exception of the EMT officer from
Aspen, who is still there. I've spoken to him recently
about it and nowadays with five, six, seven years under
our belts, we can laugh about it. Back then, that was a
real affront to what he was into and that was saving
people's lives and he was embarrassed. For that I'm sorry,
but I think in other terms it was hilarious. Made the
paper, made the police blotter, made the radio, infamous
-- famous of sorts.
"I'm
often confused with an older brother who lived here for a
few years before taking the Aspen police chief job. He is
currently the police chief...he's also a psychologist and
of course he has his Ph.D. Of course Aspen thinks that
they're unbelievably different from everybody else.
Instead of going out and getting a police officer to be
police chief, who's had twelve years in the trenches, they
go out and get a psychologist, which I think is
admirable. Although, I'm sure they probably did it
for all the wrong reasons. He was a replacement for the
police chief that refused to arrest the town of Aspen for
using cocaine. Aspen had enough of their image as
portrayed in the national news media, so they hired my
brother to clean it up. And apparently he is...they have
toilet paper in all the public stalls there now. It's
getting cleaned up.
"I
originally came to Breckenridge in '74 on a ski vacation,
then stayed. Originally, I worked at the St. Bernard Inn
as a cook.
"It
was about half a year until I bought half the restaurant.
My wife and I realized that if we were to stay, that my
education was not going to pay the way. It's pretty much
the same today as eleven years ago. Either you go into
restaurant business, the ski business or real estate. I
chose the restaurant business.
"Am
I making a million dollars here in the restaurant
business? No! It affords a job and an opportunity to stay
here. I'm not going to make a million dollars here in the
restaurant business. It doesn't bother me, that's fine, no
big deal.
"I'm
happy here. However, I think I'd probably move on at some
point in time. Two big reasons. Number one,
development...I see this place changing in such a way that
what the heck is the difference being here or being in
Chicago or being in New York in spite of the mountains,
etc? After eleven seasons of snow here, I hate the snow. I
rarely, if ever, ski anymore.
"Certainly
at one time, I was considered a ski bum extra-ordinare.
Skied 110 to 130 days a year for three or four years.
Taught skiing at the local ski school and wouldn't dare
think of missing a new storm in the morning and now I
could sleep through it peacefully. It's all behind me.
"I
suppose from an outdoor perspective, what keeps me here is
spring, summer and fall, although we have very little
spring. I do like the seasons. I don't particularly care
for winter, it's too long. However, winter is when you
make the money. It's the bottom line.
"In
terms of me and my limited perceptions of the world, lots
and lots of people come up here because it's heaven or
something out of the ordinary -- different than the city,
etc., etc. I probably came up here for those reasons too.
It's not any different here than any place else. You can't
run away from problems. By that I mean...life is what you
make it...it's the same. Just moving up here doesn't make
things any better or worse. You are what you are...and you
are what you make yourself. It doesn't matter whether
you're at 10,000 feet or back at sea level."
