My Ferry Tales
By: Rock Richard
I was 19 years old in 1965 and had no clue what direction my life would take. The options were taken from me when I realize, I would soon be drafted to go to Vietnam, instead, I opted for the Navy. I learned some electronics and became an aircraft electrician. When I left the Navy I started my work career at IBM, and they trained me to service their computers and troubleshoot when necessary. My main assignment was to be available at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC) headquarters in Manhattan. Manhattan was their main office and they employed more than 25,000 people at that location. the IBM computers of that day we're, huge and require special cooling systems. These machines occupied several floors at the location on Madison Ave. I retired with 25 years of service working for IBM. I received 1500 dollar retraining money from IBM. I did not want to vegetate at home, so I joined a gym and I also decided to start a new career. I wanted my new career to be actively meeting a variety of interesting people, so I decided to attended bartending school that I thought would be the best thing for me to do at this time in my life. Yes, bartending school, what was I thinking?
Anyway, after I completed my courses, I received a certificate verifying that, I'm now a certified bartender. This course was much more daunting than many might imagine. It was just happenstance and luck I I received a call from the school informing me that a bartender position was available on the Port Jefferson Ferry, I applied and got the job. Wow, this new position would enable me to meet a variety of individuals on all levels. It was perfect!
As I pursued my new career, I found that some people on board thought that the one hour plus trip to Connecticut was kind of boring. Therefore, many of them would come to the bar for stimulating conversation and to see the bartender's magic tricks. I also met celebrities from movie stars to politicians, like Paul Simon, Diana Ross, Christie Brinkley, and others. I also met bikers who were on board, from the Hells Angels and Pagans gang. Even though they looked like killers, they were nice to me. The great thing about it, having these conversations is that I would learn many new things. I would also hear complaints and all sorts of personal and unusual issues, which I wish they would have kept to themselves. Meanwhile, I did manage to accumulate many stories which I call “My Ferry Tales”. These stories entertain my family and friends. They make me repeatedly tell my “My Ferry Tales” stories because when I tell them, they just can’t stop laughing. Maybe I should write a book? If I do write a book, I would have to change names to protect the innocent and those in the government witness protection program.
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