One of the things one does when confined to quarters by COVID19 is to rummage through drawers and shelves. I was doing that when I came across a letter of thanks I received over 30 years ago for a job well done.
I was the team leader/project manager for a software project for CITICORP bank in Zurich, Switzerland. It was truly a major undertaking for a little Israeli software house where I was working. I spent about 2 years on the project. Nearly six months of that time I was in Switzerland. The longest stretch was almost 2 months. The shortest was 2 days. One of my memories from then is the following story.
The period after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was .marked by international tension. When CITICORP wanted me to come to Zurich for some consultation we warned them that if hostilities became imminent I would have to return to Israel immediately. And that was what occurred. My flight home was on El AL, the Israeli National Airline. other companies had cancelled all their flights to Israel. I called the local office and was informed that El Al was still flying. I made arrangements to get to Kloten Airport and went to the usual boarding gate for El Al. Everything was closed.
Some inquiries resulted in discovering that the next flight out would only take place the following evening. I booked a hotel room for the night. When I arose the next morning I went to the hotel lobby to see a TV update on the situation. The News was carrying reports of the first air strikes that heralded the opening of Operation Desert Storm. The disconcerting part of those reports was not from the TV. Another hotel guest was in the lobby, and in a total panic. He wondered back and forth, declaiming loudly that this was the beginning of a nuclear war and we were all doomed.
When I returned to the airport I found that departure time was scheduled for a very late hour. That part of the terminal was totally deserted except for El Al passengers. We went down to ground level and boarded a bus that took us to the aircraft. It was parked in isolation at a corner of the ramps. We were escorted by Swiss police armed with sub-machine guns. Two armored cars patrolled the area. You knew there was a war going on somewhere, and the Swiss were being extra careful.
n the end, I got home safely. Israel, at America;s behest, refrained from responding to the missiles Saddam Hussain fired at Tel Aviv. He ended up dead and I got this delightful letter complimenting me on a job well done.
Wetherhorn 