I can look back now and laugh.\u00a0 The incident was not funny when it happened.<\/p>\n
In the seventies, state in-service was mandatory for homemaking teachers.\u00a0 The Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas was our in-service headquarters that particular summer.\u00a0 The Georgetown teachers traveled in two cars, one of which was mine.\u00a0 We arrived in Dallas, entered the parking garage, unloaded our luggage, and checked into the hotel.\u00a0 Our cars were whisked up the ramp and out of sight.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Everything we needed was within walking distance of the hotel.\u00a0 We had no need to get the cars out of the parking garage.\u00a0 My niece worked in the analytical lab for Frito- Lay.\u00a0 She arranged a short tour for us.\u00a0 We took a cab.<\/p>\n
Cynthia was in junior high.\u00a0 Our plans for her during that week did not work out, and she was left with no option but to go with me.\u00a0 She was a good sport about it and rather enjoyed the attention.\u00a0 She dressed up and went to some of the sessions that sounded interesting.\u00a0 She still remembers some of them.\u00a0 She recalls being in a small group session on how to respond to compliments.\u00a0 Another day when she was slightly behind our group as we crossed a busy street, some guys in a car whistled at her and asked if she was a homemaking teacher.\u00a0 She really felt grown up and gave them what she thought was a smart answer.<\/p>\n
Her cousin treated the two of us to dinner one night.\u00a0\u00a0 When we returned to the hotel, she said, \u201cI have something for you.\u201d\u00a0 She opened the trunk of her car and there was a huge clear plastic bag full of chips from the Frito- Lay freebie bin.\u00a0 (They no longer have the freebie bin.)\u00a0 The bag must have been at least three feet deep. It had bags of every Frito- Lay product as well as some unlabeled bags of products being developed.*\u00a0 \u00a0Cynthia carried it and had to hold it up to keep it off the floor.\u00a0 She enjoyed the stares as we walked through the lobby and as we rode the elevator up to our room.\u00a0 She kept a straight face, but I almost got the giggles.<\/p>\n
We were anxious to leave as soon as our last session finished.\u00a0 We checked out of the hotel, and with our luggage and chips departed for the parking garage.\u00a0 We hurried across the crosswalk from the entrance area to the waiting area for the exit.\u00a0 My fellow teacher\u2019s car came down almost immediately.\u00a0 Our friends left, and we were assured my car would be \u201cright down.\u201d\u00a0 It was not.\u00a0 We finally moved back out of the way as others moved forward to their cars. Cynthia carefully protected the chips as people pushed in around us.\u00a0 \u00a0An attendant came over and asked me the make, year model, and color of my car.\u00a0 That was not good.\u00a0 The attendant left assuring me he would be \u201cright back.\u201d\u00a0 By this time, a supervisor was on the scene.\u00a0 He asked me to go with an attendant into the garage and point out my car.\u00a0 I could hear the disbelief in my fellow teacher\u2019s voice as she whispered to Cynthia, \u201cThey can\u2019t find the car.\u201d\u00a0 We found my car.<\/p>\n
We were anxious to be gone, but it was not to be.<\/p>\n
I realized that we were in really big trouble when I was handed a box of keys and asked to pick out my key.\u00a0 They were serious!\u00a0 I remained calm and told them I could not find my key.\u00a0 They all looked alike to me.\u00a0 The car was a Buick, so another attendant began picking out all of the General Motors keys.\u00a0 I still did not recognize my key.\u00a0 They explained that my key had apparently been put on a generic ring with no identification.<\/p>\n
I began trying to call Ken.\u00a0 (There were no cell phones then.)\u00a0 This was a Friday afternoon.\u00a0 His travel schedule often meant that he did not return to Austin until late Friday.\u00a0 Fortunately, he was in his office.\u00a0 He gave them the number of his key. They were preparing to call a Buick dealer and get another key when they found my key.<\/p>\n
The garage had cleared by this time.\u00a0 The attendants were not as busy and were enjoying watching the cute teenager waiting with a bag containing enough chips to feed all of them.\u00a0 When the car came finally in sight, they all scrambled to help us.\u00a0 They did not let us lift a finger as they carefully put our luggage into the trunk.\u00a0 The chips went in last.\u00a0 They did not break a single chip.<\/p>\n
After more than two hours, we got on our way.\u00a0 We arrived safely in Georgetown, unloaded the car, propped our feet up and relaxed while munching on chips.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
*Some of the unlabeled bags contained what would later be marketed as Doritos.\u00a0 Yes, there was a time when there were no Doritos on the market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I can look back now and laugh. The incident was not funny when it happened. In the seventies, state in-service was mandatory for homemaking teachers. The Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas was our in-service headquarters that particular summer. The Georgetown teachers traveled in two cars, one of which was mine. We arrived in Dallas, entered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[203],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1972-to-1987","tag-car-lost-in-parking-garage"],"yoast_head":"\n