51 Years Ago Today - Whew!!! Was I excited

[Henry]

51 years ago today happened to be a Sunday - It was a nice sunny day.  My mother had helped me pack my suitcase and after Mass, with a map and directions in the car with me, I headed off for Poughkeepsie, New York where I was to start my last place of employment before retirement on the following day, May 20, 1957.

IBM had given me a map that directed me down 22A, a route I had never been on before, down through to Glens Falls, another place I had never been, then on to this big Interstate Highway, again a place I had never driven on before.  How nervous was I???  Well pretty darned nervous.  It has been so many years, that I have actually forgotten the name of the Hotel in Poughkeepsie that IBM had made a reservation for me at, but I did find it.  Never got lost at all as they had actually given me very clear directions.

The next morning I got up and headed off for the Big IBM Plant in Poughkeepsie, following the directions and expecting no problems.  Oh Yes!!  There was a problem however as I drove along the highway looking for things that the directions said I would see.  Saw the road sign that said Hyde Park and realized then that I certainly was lost.  Checked my watch and realized I should have been at the plant at IBM, Poughkeepsie.  I almost panicked as I turned around and headed back towards Poughkeepsie and found that when I left the Hotel Parking lot, I had turned the opposite way I was supposed to.  There were no cell phones in those days, so I couldn't call in, plus there was much more traffic on the roads than this Fairfax Country Boy was accustomed to.

On my first day of work at IBM on May 20, 1957, I arrived late for work, which certainly was not an impressive start for my career there.  Once I got through the gates, I was directed and lead to where I needed to go and made to feel very comfortable by some very understanding people waiting for me there at the IBM Plant in Poughkeepsie.  My first ID Photo at IBM, however, certainly showed how panicked I was.  They didn't fire me like I thought they might and just made me feel very comfortable in this strange city.

I learned a very valuable lesson that day.  From that time on, whenever I went someplace and had a meeting or place to be the next morning, I always made a dry run the night before, so I would know exactly where I was going the next morning.

By the way, it was a little over 35 years later that I retired from IBM on July 31, 1992, ever thankful I did find my way there on May 20, 1957.