During my years selling software and related services, from 1977-1985, I had various territories through the midwest and New England. Sometimes I drove my own car to see clients, other times I flew into cities and picked up rental cars (I always asked for small cars; I couldn’t see over the steering wheels of those big Buicks). This was long before GPS came into popular usage.

I should state that I have no innate sense of direction. I can read a map (even those little ones that the rental car companies used to provide). But I needed more detailed instructions to get to the specific location.

As I set up appointments, I made it my practice to ask the client/prospect for detailed driving directions. If I came in from the airport, even if I stayed at a hotel (sometimes I would fly in and out in a single day), I asked for directions with the airport as the starting point. I could navigate from there. Telling me to travel north or south never helped. I needed to know to turn left or right, how many lights I’d pass, what were the landmarks I’d pass (“look for the Waffle House on your right”, for example).

I would always allow myself an extra half hour in the event that I’d get lost. And I was NEVER afraid to stop at a gas station (this was long before self-service was ubiquitous) and ask for help, if I sensed that I was way off track.

I had stacks of 3X5 cards with the client’s name, company, address, phone number and driving directions to get to his company (almost invariably male). I kept those in my briefcase, alphabetized, bound by a rubber band. Each client then had a folder with other information from each call, once I started the relationship, but that card had the pertinent information for getting to the destination. I could hold it up in my hand as I drove. I might not know if I’ve driven .3 miles, but I knew if I’d passed the middle school. The landmarks kept me on-track.

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My pediatric dentist was a tall man, so of course, he was called “Tiny”. As my second teeth came in, it was clear, even before braces were discussed, there was not enough room in my small mouth for those large teeth, so he spoke with my mother about extracting two, possibly four (top and bottom) of the incisors. They wouldn’t be missed and would leave room for more of those large second teeth.

An appointment for the extraction was made. “Tiny” Konikow would do it himself in his office, though I would be under sedation. My always-nervous mother probably made me nervous about the process as well. I think I was 9 years old. Going into the procedure, it wasn’t clear if two or four teeth would be removed.

I was in the chair, it was reclined way back. He and his nurse were very reassuring. I remember seeing the mask coming toward me. I think they used ether, as I remember the smell of gas. Tiny asked me to count backwards from 100. I got to 99 and was out.

I had the most peculiar dream. I lay on my back with my feet in the air, up against a wall (presaging my love of Pilates, perhaps?). Suddenly, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, the three good fairies from the Disney version of “Sleeping Beauty”, were buzzing over my head, singing to me. Crazy, right? Then the dream was over and the dentist called me back to reality. The operation was over, gauze was packed in my bloody tooth sockets. He reassured me that all had gone well. He would get my mother.

I remember quickly pulling out the gauze to see if there was blood on both sides. I wanted to know if the top and bottom teeth had been pulled (it never occurred to me that the blood would soak through anyway). The dentist came back with my worried mother, assured her that all had gone well, that FOUR teeth had been pulled (my preference; if we were going to do this, let’s get rid of all of them) and that I would heal quickly. I couldn’t eat much for a day or day, needed to rinse with a special solution, but it was really easy.

And I got Barbie’s ballerina outfit as a special treat for being such a good patient! I really wanted that outfit.

Original Barbie ballerina outfit with booklet description.

In a few years, I would still need to be in braces, head gear, and all the other accoutrement. But this was a start.