In 1973 one problem ended and another started. The Vietnam War was done, with all of U.S troops being pulled out. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned for criminal reasons, and rumors of the infamous Watergate scandal begin, according to Steve Pearson, a publisher for “What Happened in 1973 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture.”. Martin Cooper made the first call from a handheld phone, and both the World Trade Center and the Sears Tower open (Pearson). Other technological advancements include the launching of the first U.S space station Skylab (Pearson).

During this time inflation was a problem that affected the United Kingdom and the United States greatly. The inflation was so bad in the U.K that to preserve jobs, they shortened their business week to only 3 days (Pearson). Businesses were in a struggle to keep their doors open.

Curly Shea was an average suburban kid growing up. He lived with his parents and two older brothers in Memphis, Tennessee. His mom and dad both worked in the insurance industry, and his older siblings were following in their footsteps. Looking into the future that was what he had envisioned for himself to do. During his junior year of high school, Curly found an amazing girlfriend that he got really close with, they together, graduated in 1968, heading off to college right after to major in insurance.

Curly always had a bright imagination as a kid, dreaming about traveling and having an amazing life. After he graduated college and was living by himself, he was walking his golden retriever one early morning and found a Life Magazine laying on the side of the street. He picked it up and brought it back home with him, opening the battered pages to read the articles. Most of the magazine was Vietnam articles or information about the resignation of Spiro Agnew. He was flipping through the pages and coming upon the end of the magazine. One page caught his interest, there was a picture of a mountain with a short article below. Little did he know this Life Magazine would change the rest of his life.

The article Curly read was about a new ski resort opening in Big Sky, Montana. He had never skied before or seen the Rocky Mountains. It interested him greatly, his bright imagination got the best of him and he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities of the resort for the rest of the day.

Later the same day he had dinner with his family, his older brothers were in town with their families. As usual he brought his longtime girlfriend from back in high school. During the dinner Curly brought up the topic of the new resort opening in Montana. His family didn’t really care for a ski resort and told him that it would likely fail. Then the usual topic came up, insurance, and Curly got roped into the conversation talking about the greats of it and how it is a stable job. At the time Curly was still looking for a full time insurance job so his parents and older brothers were trying to help him find a good one, to eventually be able to settle down and start a family.

That night Curly realized exactly what was going to happen with his life if he went down that road, he saw it in his brothers. They both were married with kids now, and nothing really of a story to tell. He hated the idea of becoming like his brothers, he wanted to get out of Memphis and do something. On the car ride home Curly talked to his girlfriend of the idea about moving to the new ski resort.

“ … this is something I am seriously thinking about.” Curly told her.

“You would be so stupid to chase that ski resort and leave Memphis.” She replied.

Curly was heartbroken at the fact his girlfriend couldn’t share the same dreams as him. Later that night after his girlfriend left Curly sat at his table and dreamed of moving out to the newly formed ski resort, imagining the possibilities.

Curley remembered back in his childhood when he had a tough decision to make. To decide, he would typically flip a coin, not thinking twice. He thought that it would be absurd to flip a coin with the decision he was about to make, and then he thought of his brothers. Buried in one of his drawers was an old U.S. Silver Dollar that his grandpa gave to him before he passed years ago. Curly laid it down on his kitchen table and stared at the silver circle for a long time. After some time, he decided that this little piece of silver was going to make his decision and he was going to honor it.

Heads he would stay, tails he was leaving everything behind for an article in Life Magazine.

Long after opening his restaurant in Big Sky, Montana, Curly is known as one of the friendliest locals in the ski resort. He is loved and well known, mainly for his good food and amazing hospitality. He has changed lives of tourists that visit the resort, showing every single one how amazing Big Sky can be. Curly loves to ski, going out as much as he can while running his well known restaurant, The Cabin Bar and Grill, at the same time. An article by Tyler Allen in Mountain Outlaw talks about how “The accessibility to adventure is endless [in Big Sky]” (84). When people ask Curly what brought him out to Big Sky, he always smiles and tells them “A coin toss is what brought me here today.”

Works Cited

Allen, Tyler. “Mountain Outlaw.” The Shooter, 2016, pp. 1–122.

gonetwave. The Cabin Bar & Grill in Big Sky, Montana.

Pearson, Steve. “What Happened in 1973 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture.” What Happened in 2006 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events

Shea, Curly. Personal Interview. 30 Dec 2018.