My best friend in the Army was another air traffic controller like myself. When we both got out of the service in 1972 we were both hired by the FAA. My friend was hired at Tampa Int'l and I was hired at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport. Soon after arriving he was transferred to Chattanooga. I stayed at St. Pete for about 4 years and then was transferred to Pensacola in 1977, so we had been out of touch with each other since about 1973.
In 1978 after I was in Pensacola for a year I decided to put my home on the market so I could custom build a home. I wasn't in a hurry, so I listed it by owner. The next morning I received a call from a prospective buyer to look at my home. A half hour later the doorbell rang and it was my friend and his wife. He had been transferred to Pensacola and was in town on a house hunting trip. I had not heard from him in 4 years and had no idea he was leaving Chattanooga and was coming to Pensacola and he had no idea I had ever left St. Petersburg, much less that this was my home.
After we sat and talked awhile, he said they had an appointment with a realtor and had to leave. 15 minutes later he called to say they've decided to buy our home, which they did.
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