My Journey to Florida from Pittsburgh

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and I never thought I would leave. But, God had other plans for me. Through a series of events, I ended up in the Sunshine State. Here are the events:

1. I had a friend from High School who lived in Clearwater with his wife, They had invited me to join some of their friends on a couple vacation trips in 1986. One trip was to Key West and the other was to Daytona Beach. I had a good time on each trip, but I had no intention of moving to Florida.
2. My company in Pittsburgh was relocating to Henderson Nevada (near Las Vegas).
3. My parents were getting divorced.

So, I needed a job and I knew people in Florida, and my home life was not ideal.

So, I started looking for a job in Florida. I saw an ad in ComputerWorld magazine for a contractor job in Florida. I had a phone interview that went well and I was offered a job that ended up being as a contractor for GTE in Tampa (now Verizon). I worked as a contractor for a few years before becoming a full time GTE employee.

So, on a snowy day in October of 1986, I was on my way to Florida.

If any of the above three events had not happened, I am sure that I would still be in the Steel City.

I still enjoy going back home and I really miss my family. I wish they could visit me more often.