Mistaken for Unemployed and Poor

As some of you may know, many companies allow relaxed dress code as well as many companies also allow their computer programmers to wear jeans and work strange hours.

In the fall of 1995, I had a great contract job at Baker Hughes as well as many other smaller contracts.  In the mornings, I got Derek and Taylor on the school bus and I dropped off Megan at Mula Road Day Care center which also had a Pre-Kindergarten class.  Megan's class started at 8:00 am every morning.  

I often worked late hours at home which made morning difficult to get going.  After getting Derek and Taylor on the school bus, I would eat some breakfast and take a shower before getting off to my contracts.  Many days, I would get Megan to Mula Road Day Care after the 8:00 am school start.   Mula Road Day Care Center is a pretty big day care with many teachers.  They would see me pull up in my Red Dodge Ram Truck dressed in blue jeans and a polo cut shirt.  The fact that I was late to drop off Megan made me stand out.  I knew it wasn't good to be late but I didn't think it was going to adversely effect Megan's future since this was just Pre-K.

One week before Thanksgiving, I dropped off Megan and one of the Teachers asked me to come in to the Teacher's lounge.  I thought something bad must of happened or I was going to be asked about getting Megan on time more often.  Once we walked into the lounge, there were several other Teachers waiting there also.  At this point, I thought I was really in for it, except they were all smiling at me.  

After getting situated in the lounge with all these women, the Teacher who brought me in began to tell me why I was there.  She said, "First off, I hope we don't embarrass you with this.  My husband was out of work for a year recently, so I know what it is like now a days.  We got a collection together and here is a certificate for groceries and a turkey at Randall's.  Also we bought Megan a coat."   Then the teachers clapped and said Happy Thanksgiving to me.  I was shocked but knew I had to put on a good act for their nice generosity despite they having me completely pegged wrong.  

Several years later my family ended up joining a church where the Teacher who escorted me into the lounge belonged.  We became good friends with her and her husband.  We had them over to our house many times.  She soon discovered that both me and my wife do very well and have a very nice house.  I waited for her to bring up the incident and I surely was not going to, but she never did.