On this day 49 years ago I started work at Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids. Two days earlier I left behind my four year home in Ames, Iowa as a college graduate and ventured out into the real world.
My car was loaded up with the last of my stuff and off I went to my new apartment in Marion, Iowa. I made that trek on my own. I spent moving day totally occupied and didn't really think about it. I finished around 6:00pm. It was a Saturday and it was at that moment reality set in. I was in a new town, it was Saturday night and I didn't know anybody.
I hopped in the car and went for a drive. I pretty much got lost, but found my way back to Marion and I stopped at a bar. A guy at the bar drew a map on a napkin explaining the quadrants of Cedar Rapids and giving me a tutorial. I then realized one of my college acquaintances was from Marion. I gave her a call and she invited me over for a movie and popcorn. That helped me more than she will ever know. I still try to identify that farm whenever I venture north on highway 13. Today it looks nothing like it did then. I don't even know if the farm is still there.
41½ years later I left that job. My Iowa State education served me well. Now I'm just another idiot on a message board. At least I still get to work with computers. 🤓💻
My car was loaded up with the last of my stuff and off I went to my new apartment in Marion, Iowa. I made that trek on my own. I spent moving day totally occupied and didn't really think about it. I finished around 6:00pm. It was a Saturday and it was at that moment reality set in. I was in a new town, it was Saturday night and I didn't know anybody.
I hopped in the car and went for a drive. I pretty much got lost, but found my way back to Marion and I stopped at a bar. A guy at the bar drew a map on a napkin explaining the quadrants of Cedar Rapids and giving me a tutorial. I then realized one of my college acquaintances was from Marion. I gave her a call and she invited me over for a movie and popcorn. That helped me more than she will ever know. I still try to identify that farm whenever I venture north on highway 13. Today it looks nothing like it did then. I don't even know if the farm is still there.
41½ years later I left that job. My Iowa State education served me well. Now I'm just another idiot on a message board. At least I still get to work with computers. 🤓💻
