It is hard to believe that it was 54 years ago today that a very young couple from Illinois arrived in Washington, DC to start working for the FBI. We were hired by the Bureau while living in IL and accepted what we thought would be a couple years working in DC and then returning to IL. At first we were interested in returning, but after a few years we decided to stay out here.
We arrived late in the evening driving our 1950 Plymouth and towing a U-Haul trailer with all our worldly possession packed in it. We were wide eyed and didn't know where we were going, but did have an address for a boarding house on East Capital St. We knew it was near the Capital, but not exactly where. We were in front of the Union Station and saw the capital so I pointed the Plymouth in that direction. Imagine our surprise when we started driving down steps toward the street. I thought I was on the road, but not so. Once we started down the steps there was no turning back. We tried to look like this was a natural thing, but the looks that people were giving us as they scurried out of our way made it difficult.
We finally found the boarding house and stopped to see where we could park. They said anywhere we could find a spot. Have you ever tried to backup a trailer into a parking space in the dark? I hadn't, but I was a quick learner and got it parked. If we tried that today on East Capital street, we wouldn't have a trailer in the morning. Times were different in 1957.
We found a third floor walkup efficiency apartment in the Mt. Pleasant area of NW DC and moved our meager belongings into the apartment. It had a bedroom and a small kitchen and that was it. No living room, shared bath, on the third floor and it cost us the grand total of $55/month. The landlady said we didn't have to lock the apt since she had a key and could get in whenever she wanted.
That was our introduction to Washington, DC in 1957. I started work on November 4, 1957 with the FBI as a mail clerk. It wasn't long before I knew this wasn't a good career move and started looking for a better job. It only took me two years to transfer to National Institutes of Health.
Short delay in getting out of here now. It looks like it will be Monday with the slow down because of the snowstorm.
Sabillasville, Maryland farm
Clark Travels
Our Geocaches ---
http://www.travbuddy.com/maps/6730401
I have been getting more and more spam from bloggers since I let anyone respond to the blog. One way to stop the spam is to cut off anonymous comments. It is very easy and painless to get a Gmail email account and use it to post on blogs. You don't have to actually use the account, but it gives you a portal into my blog.
NOTE: Double click photos to enlarge them and links will also be shown in red.
http://www.travbuddy.com/maps/6730401
I have been getting more and more spam from bloggers since I let anyone respond to the blog. One way to stop the spam is to cut off anonymous comments. It is very easy and painless to get a Gmail email account and use it to post on blogs. You don't have to actually use the account, but it gives you a portal into my blog.
NOTE: Double click photos to enlarge them and links will also be shown in red.
It's kind of fun to look back and remember how bad it really wasn't.
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