Glamour of the Traveling Job: Part Four
After I finished a phone conversation with the science supervisor for a large school district in a big city, we agreed to a schedule of seminars I would lead once a month. The school district had purchased my biology book, and my publisher had assigned me to conduct these meetings for about 40 teachers.
As I mentioned in previous Blogs, the “traveling life” on the job sometimes was not pretty, even though many friends and family thought I was living a glamourous lifestyle. The science supervisor’s parting words were: “And, by the way, when you arrive at the airport make sure to hire a town car, with a driver who is willing to walk you into the school. I chose a school central to the other high schools, but unfortunately, it is not safe in the parking lot when school is over. Drug dealers and several gangs inhabit the area. Taxi drivers would not be willing to walk you through the door of the school, as they know the area and how unsafe it is.”
“Wow! What about the safety of the students?” I exclaimed.
“Police are there during the day, but they leave when school is over.”
“Okay, I will hire a town car. Thanks for the heads-up.”
Sure enough, when arriving at the building, the parking lot was teaming with adults milling around in a large crowd. As the driver inched the car forward through the crowd, people taunted, yelled profanities, and hit the car with their fists. I wondered if we should call the police.
The driver assured me that it was all just “for show,” people just blowing off steam with nothing better to do. He insisted we were safe and that we could park right by the door and he would walk in with me. I could feel my heart race and the hair stand up on the back of my neck. But what could I do about this? Just trust the driver, I decided. True to his word, we made it into the building. When he picked me up at the same spot after the seminar, I noticed that teachers left in groups for their cars. The crowd had dispersed somewhat after three hours, but there were still some scary-looking people in the parking lot.
Over several months, the routine was the same. I hired the same driver each month because he knew how to handle the situation. Then, the sales manager for the entire region decided he wanted to come to a seminar, meet teachers, and get acquainted with the science supervisor of the school district. I gave him all the logistics and advised him to take a town car from the airport in the same way I had been told.
“I’m not afraid,” he said. “I can handle any situation. I’ll just get a cab as it costs a lot less.”
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation here. It really isn’t safe,” I replied.
“No worries. I’ve got this,” he proclaimed.
His flight was delayed, and he let me know that he would be late. One-half hour into the meeting my phone, on vibrate, lighted up. It was the manager. I told my audience that I had to answer.
“Linda, get someone out here right away! The taxi let me off and I’m surrounded. Do it NOW!” came his shrill voice and heavy breathing.
I told my audience that the manager needed assistance in the parking lot and asked if a few people could go and help. Three men jumped up and went running.
“Should I call the police?” I asked him.
“No, just get someone out here who can help me through this crowd. These are some scary folks out here—might be opposing gangs ready to fight!” he shouted with voice shaking.
As he came into the room, I wanted to tell him, “I told you so!” but I refrained as I introduced him to the teachers and the science supervisor. So much for the glamour of the traveling life I thought!
Dear Reader,
If you missed the earlier entries in this series, Glamour of the Traveling Job Part One and Glamour of the Traveling Job Part Two, please click on the links below.
Thank you,
Linda