Sunday, April 15, 1979: Daytime flight from San Francisco. Short drive to the Great Neck Hotel in Manhasset, across the street from the Long Island Railroad station.

Monday April 16, 1979: The LIRR trains provide a (relatively) gentle wakeup call. In Oregon, commercial firms are all open by 9 a.m, so no reason to ask about CMP. After a quick breakfast, just a 45 minute walk to the headquarters on East Shore Road.

Trying to look eager and punctual, arrive at the front door at 9. The building is dark, the doors are locked. I double-check the address; this is the right place. Fortunately, it is a nice day and there are a dozen copies of the Wall Street Journal flung near the entrance. In the time it takes to read one, the first employees arrive promptly at 10 a.m.

After some perfunctory HR paperwork, I am taken to meet Gerry Leeds. He drops what he’s doing and goes downstairs to introduce his son Michael, in whatever department he was working in at the time. “Remember him. He’ll be running this place soon,” Gerry said.

Then off to CSN, where I meet Al Perlman and his merry band, including Jim Alkon. A picture is taken for an upcoming house ad. A two-decade CMP sojourn begins.

Is this item self-indulgent? Yes. And yet, I cannot believe that I am the only newbie who ever showed up before anyone else at either of the East Shore Road offices—especially if they were from the West Coast, where a different sense of time prevailed.