I worked at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics as a college student. I was lucky enough for the official food service company of the Olympics to offer me a job selling hot buttered rums and warm-you-up snacks at events including the luge, the bobsled, and the ski jump.
I also sold hot chocolate at the Opening Ceremonies, carrying an enormous vat of the sweet, wintery beverage through the stands. It was cold, it was exhilarating, and it was game-changing. After my shift ended each day, I met up with friends to hang out in one of a handful of darling restaurants and bars in postcard-perfect Lake Placid, New York — the mountains and trees frosted in white, with smiles at every turn.
