With our meager furniture and clothes packed in boxes and stored in an attached rented trailer, Elaine and I and Schatzie, our Parakeet set out on the 400 mile trip from Massachusetts to that magically sounding city of Baltimore, Maryland, and to work at the Social Security Administration.
I was very ignorant about Baltimore. I seemed to recall that two of my heroes had some kind of connection with that city. H. L. Mencken and Edgar Allen Poe. I also had some interesting adventures in Europe with a fellow Airman named Willie, who grew up in what he called the Baltimore Ghetto.
My wife, Elaine likes to tell the story that she and her mother had gotten their palms read in 1954 by a Gypsy encamped across from their church. The Gypsy lady told Elaine's mother that a few years from now, she would be visiting a city named Baltimore to see her new-born granddaughter. At the time, they knew that the Gypsy was making it up. (But, of course, it came true seven years later.)
After some minor car problems we broke down in Delaware and had to get help from a fellow traveler. Once on the road again we survived a flat tire and finally rattled across the Mason Dixon line and limped into the outskirts of Baltimore. We took shelter at a cinder block truck stop.
We had been told by Elaine's uncle that it was always hot in Maryland and we would not need warm clothes. We did not take any coats. So, we and our bird spent a lot of shivering time as snow flakes eased in through cracks in the cinder block walls.
I was able to use the room's telephone and a copy of the Baltimore Sun to pinpoint a prospective place to live. The first call turned out well. The owner said that others were interested, but if we wanted to, we could come and take a look at the offering. (I suspect that we were the only persons interested and our visit was to make sure that we were white. Were the times different then?)
The apartment was exactly what we were looking for and the price was right. We sealed the deal and then limped out to the nearest Ford dealership to get our car fixed. In it's present condition, we would have been restricted to public transportation, which didn't look too promising to me.
The Ford dealer was wonderful. He gave us a "loaner" to use while he fixed our car. He had no idea who we were, but when I told him I was going to work for Social Security, he bent over backwards to be nice to us. (Len Stoler?... ??)
We moved out of the motel and into our spacious and clean apartment. Life was good.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Chapter One ... Why Baltimore?
Chapter one.. Why Baltimore?
The year was May 1959 and I was a Liberal Arts major at Boston University. I was married and my wife and I worked to supplement my small GI Bill income. Five days a week, I traveled about 120 miles roundtrip to Boston from our home in New Bedford, Massachusetts. At the end of every school day, and after I arrived home from my bus ride, I would work for five or six hours driving a taxi.
Now, as a young college student, I did not make much money at this job. The "old timers" bribed the dispatchers to give most of the jobs to them. I got what was left, which was not much. Luckily, my wife worked as a waitress, and made enough money to pay the rent and keep us in food.
So, it was time for me to think ahead. I did not want to work for a profit-making business, because I was an idealistic guy. I wanted to work in the Government, in some capacity that somehow helped people. I decided to take all of the Government tests that were offered at that time.
The Foreign Service Exam was a tough test. I passed the French and the German parts of the test. I also did well on all other parts but one that completely flummoxed me. It consisted of a series of topological maps and you were supposed to determine the appropriate country. The kicker was, there was no writing on any of the map features. Now.. how the hell was I going to figure that one out? I didn't.. I flubbed it, and with it my chance to serve in the State Department.
The Secret Service Exam was also tough, but I passed it with what was apparently a good score, because two agents offered me a job with them. However, after recording all of my life story, they left and as I happily started to leave, they came back and said that they had forgotten to ask me one question. "Were you ever ashamed of any job you have ever had?"
Dummy me... I said, "Yes." The prior year, I had been a "telemarketer" before that became a common word. I would sit in a room with a battery of telephones and the leader would each day tear a page out of the Boston telephone directory and hand it to one of us. We were then required to call everyone on that page and "sell" them booklets of "wonderful offers." The booklets sold for $5 and, if one used all of the coupons, one might save a dollar or so. It sounded good, but was really an early scam. My job, besides calling and "nailing" a sale, was to go to the location, deliver the product and get the money. I would be able to keep one dollar.
At the time, I had a car in Boston and gas prices were ridiculously low. However, I often got "stiffed" when people took a look at the coupon book.
One blind lady was very happy to get a booklet with a free lesson at a dance studio. This gave me a guilt trip. Here was someone to whom five dollars was a large amount of money. Now, she has a booklet of coupons which relate to places that, being blind, she could not travel to. (Times were different for blind folks in those day.)
The Secret Service guys said they were sorry but they could not hire someone who had ever been ashamed of a job they had.
The next test I took was administer by folks from the National Security Agency. I felt that perhaps that organization might be good for me because I had been a radio operator and a cryptographer during my four year Air Force tour. At that time I had a Crypto Security Clearance, which I believe was higher than Top Secret. I knew that my skills would be of use to the NSA. I aced the test.
The NCA agent shook my hand and welcomed me into his organization. He asked me how soon I could start work in Maryland. I told him that I still had a year's work to finish in order to get my bachelor's degree. This came as a great surprise. He thought that I had already graduated. I did not realize that as a person without a college degree, I was not supposed to be taking that test.
He still said that NSA wanted me. He handed me his business card with his name and telephone number on it. Richard Simmler. He told me, right after the dean hands you your diploma, call me at this number and we will arrange for you to start in your new job with us.
I felt wonderful. Now I did not have to worry about being out of work for any period of time after graduation.
Now, move ahead to June 1960. The Dean hands me my diploma and shakes my hand. I dash off to a telephone and dialed Mr. Semmler's number. "Who? Nobody by that name works here. You must have the wrong number." I spoke to supervisors and managers, all of whom said they never heard of Mr. Semmler.
What do I do now? Active job seeking began anew.
Air Force Commission? I spent a little time at the Springfield, Massachusetts Air Force Base, where I was treated regally with gourmet food and pitchers of delicious draft beer. That was nice, but everybody I interacted with seemed to act like children at a party. I said, "No thanks."
Long Haul Trucking Dispatcher? A major hauler offered me an internship with a "big future." I said, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Similar Jobs.... No, I still wanted to work for the Government. So, I decided to take the Federal Service Entrance examination and see what would pop up.
I took and passed the test and immediately got two job offers:
GS 7 Budget Analyst at Indianhead, Maryland. I wasn't too keen about working on budgets, but since it was offered I wanted to learn more about it. My wife's uncle was stationed at Indianhead during World War II, so we asked him about it. He said that Indianhead was near Washington D.C., and was a malarial "hellhole." So, we decided to forget about that job.
GS 7 Benefit Authorizer at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland. The Social Security Act had been amended and more workers were needed. They actually required lawyers for the job, but quickly found out that lawyers did not want to take a cut in salary to work for the government. They then decided to open the job to people who had done investigative work. Since Ihad worked for a while as a "credit investigator for the Retail Credit organization, I qualified.
Two recruiters were dispatched to the Boston area and I was one of the persons interviewed for the job. I was asked two questions and I think they must have been pleased with my answers.
Question one: "What do you think of those Birds?" I always liked robins and blue jays, so I said: "They're great!"
Question two: "What do you think of those Colts?" Since I also liked horses, I again said;, "They're great!"
Mistakenly thinking that I knew they were talking about the Baltimore Orioles and the Baltimore Colts, they immediately shook my hand and hired me,.
So... after a long history of job hunting, I relaxed and helped my wife get our meager possessions and "Schatzie Bird" get ready for our trip below the Mason Dixon line.
The year was May 1959 and I was a Liberal Arts major at Boston University. I was married and my wife and I worked to supplement my small GI Bill income. Five days a week, I traveled about 120 miles roundtrip to Boston from our home in New Bedford, Massachusetts. At the end of every school day, and after I arrived home from my bus ride, I would work for five or six hours driving a taxi.
Now, as a young college student, I did not make much money at this job. The "old timers" bribed the dispatchers to give most of the jobs to them. I got what was left, which was not much. Luckily, my wife worked as a waitress, and made enough money to pay the rent and keep us in food.
So, it was time for me to think ahead. I did not want to work for a profit-making business, because I was an idealistic guy. I wanted to work in the Government, in some capacity that somehow helped people. I decided to take all of the Government tests that were offered at that time.
The Foreign Service Exam was a tough test. I passed the French and the German parts of the test. I also did well on all other parts but one that completely flummoxed me. It consisted of a series of topological maps and you were supposed to determine the appropriate country. The kicker was, there was no writing on any of the map features. Now.. how the hell was I going to figure that one out? I didn't.. I flubbed it, and with it my chance to serve in the State Department.
The Secret Service Exam was also tough, but I passed it with what was apparently a good score, because two agents offered me a job with them. However, after recording all of my life story, they left and as I happily started to leave, they came back and said that they had forgotten to ask me one question. "Were you ever ashamed of any job you have ever had?"
Dummy me... I said, "Yes." The prior year, I had been a "telemarketer" before that became a common word. I would sit in a room with a battery of telephones and the leader would each day tear a page out of the Boston telephone directory and hand it to one of us. We were then required to call everyone on that page and "sell" them booklets of "wonderful offers." The booklets sold for $5 and, if one used all of the coupons, one might save a dollar or so. It sounded good, but was really an early scam. My job, besides calling and "nailing" a sale, was to go to the location, deliver the product and get the money. I would be able to keep one dollar.
At the time, I had a car in Boston and gas prices were ridiculously low. However, I often got "stiffed" when people took a look at the coupon book.
One blind lady was very happy to get a booklet with a free lesson at a dance studio. This gave me a guilt trip. Here was someone to whom five dollars was a large amount of money. Now, she has a booklet of coupons which relate to places that, being blind, she could not travel to. (Times were different for blind folks in those day.)
The Secret Service guys said they were sorry but they could not hire someone who had ever been ashamed of a job they had.
The next test I took was administer by folks from the National Security Agency. I felt that perhaps that organization might be good for me because I had been a radio operator and a cryptographer during my four year Air Force tour. At that time I had a Crypto Security Clearance, which I believe was higher than Top Secret. I knew that my skills would be of use to the NSA. I aced the test.
The NCA agent shook my hand and welcomed me into his organization. He asked me how soon I could start work in Maryland. I told him that I still had a year's work to finish in order to get my bachelor's degree. This came as a great surprise. He thought that I had already graduated. I did not realize that as a person without a college degree, I was not supposed to be taking that test.
He still said that NSA wanted me. He handed me his business card with his name and telephone number on it. Richard Simmler. He told me, right after the dean hands you your diploma, call me at this number and we will arrange for you to start in your new job with us.
I felt wonderful. Now I did not have to worry about being out of work for any period of time after graduation.
Now, move ahead to June 1960. The Dean hands me my diploma and shakes my hand. I dash off to a telephone and dialed Mr. Semmler's number. "Who? Nobody by that name works here. You must have the wrong number." I spoke to supervisors and managers, all of whom said they never heard of Mr. Semmler.
What do I do now? Active job seeking began anew.
Air Force Commission? I spent a little time at the Springfield, Massachusetts Air Force Base, where I was treated regally with gourmet food and pitchers of delicious draft beer. That was nice, but everybody I interacted with seemed to act like children at a party. I said, "No thanks."
Long Haul Trucking Dispatcher? A major hauler offered me an internship with a "big future." I said, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Similar Jobs.... No, I still wanted to work for the Government. So, I decided to take the Federal Service Entrance examination and see what would pop up.
I took and passed the test and immediately got two job offers:
GS 7 Budget Analyst at Indianhead, Maryland. I wasn't too keen about working on budgets, but since it was offered I wanted to learn more about it. My wife's uncle was stationed at Indianhead during World War II, so we asked him about it. He said that Indianhead was near Washington D.C., and was a malarial "hellhole." So, we decided to forget about that job.
GS 7 Benefit Authorizer at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland. The Social Security Act had been amended and more workers were needed. They actually required lawyers for the job, but quickly found out that lawyers did not want to take a cut in salary to work for the government. They then decided to open the job to people who had done investigative work. Since Ihad worked for a while as a "credit investigator for the Retail Credit organization, I qualified.
Two recruiters were dispatched to the Boston area and I was one of the persons interviewed for the job. I was asked two questions and I think they must have been pleased with my answers.
Question one: "What do you think of those Birds?" I always liked robins and blue jays, so I said: "They're great!"
Question two: "What do you think of those Colts?" Since I also liked horses, I again said;, "They're great!"
Mistakenly thinking that I knew they were talking about the Baltimore Orioles and the Baltimore Colts, they immediately shook my hand and hired me,.
So... after a long history of job hunting, I relaxed and helped my wife get our meager possessions and "Schatzie Bird" get ready for our trip below the Mason Dixon line.
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