Driving trip, Louisville to Thunderbird

 In the summer of 1979, after living in Louisville for seven years and working as a teacher at an alternative school in Goshen just outside of town, I had decided to get a Master Degree in International Affairs at Thunderbird School near Phoenix, AZ.  Borrowing money from a Louisville bank for the tuition, I started out on my journey in my small Toyota Celica which had 65,000 miles on it and burned a quart of oil between every stop for gas.

The car was packed, 19' black and white television in the passenger seat and all of my other necessary belongings packed in the cramped back seat and in the trunk. Since the car did not have air conditioning, I started early in the morning.  State by state the weather became warmer and after driving to Oklahoma it was time to stop and do so at a one stoplight town with one gas station, one restaurant that served canned food except for the steak, and one motel that was passable but had a window air conditioner that worked well enough.

Oklahoma was a dry state at the time, both in terms of the ground and the ability to purchase any type beverages like beer and spirits.  Having anticipated this, I had some in my car trunk but could not find it underneath all of the stuff in my trunk.  I called a friend back in Louisville who had helped me pack and eventually found it hidden in a discreet place, purposely she said since so I wouldn't be tempted to have a drink until stopping.  Good idea, but darn good hiding place.

The next day the driving continued during 90+ degree heat and I finally arrived in Glendale, Arizona about ten miles north of Phoenix, a desolate place in middle of nowhere.  Arriving at Thunderbird it at first looked more like a motel than a college.  In the office that fronted the school, they at first could not find by my name, a level of administrative incompetence that eventually was accepted as usual, the "Thunderbird Way" they called it.  Finally they found it, and asked a passing student to help me find my room. His name was Amin Hassan and he was from Ethiopia. That would begin a year with 800 students from 55 different countries.  About 70% were Americans from multiple states, with the largest contingents from other countries being Japan, Germany, and multiple countries in Latin America.

The "Thunderbird Way" turned out to be an exceptional experience and eventually led to my job as a banker in New York in the summer of 1980.  That is a subset of my much longer journey from Danville, Virginia to living in a studio apartment on East 50th Street.