The 30-Day Writing Challenge: All the Places You've Ever Lived

I have discovered that there are several different versions of the 30-Day Writing Challenge out there. There's the one I got from John, and there's the one that Andrea found. There are elements of both that I like, and so for today's 30-Day Writing Challenge topic I've decided on "A List of All the Places You've Lived At." Andrea has had a go at this one, so I thought I'd follow suit ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My hometown. I lived there until I graduated from college, got married, and went off on my own in the early 70's. We actually lived in two different locations in Pittsburgh - the house in Bellevue where I was born, and the house in the northern suburb of McCandless where I spent most of my early life. It's easier just to say "Pittsburgh."

University Park and State College, Pennsylvania. University Park is the home of the Penn State main campus. I lived in a dormitory (Stuart Hall, out in East Halls area, to be exact) on campus for four years (and am still friends with my old roommate, Ed, now a retired professor of microbiology), and spent one summer sharing an apartment with my friend Greg in the neighboring town of State College. Someday I'll tell you the story of our downstairs neighbors and their hearse.

Aurora, Colorado. I rented an apartment in Aurora for six months in 1973-74 while I was learning to be a photo interpreter at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver (now closed ... the base, not Denver).

Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. I lived here from 1974 to 1978, and both of my sons were born in the base hospital. Barksdale adjoins the cities of Bossier City and Shreveport, which are nice enough places to live if you like very hot, muggy temperatures and very large bugs.

Wiesbaden, Germany. I lived in a stairwell apartment in the Hainerberg American housing area from 1978 to 1980 before moving to ...

Berlin, Germany. I lived here for from 1980 to 1982, back when the city was still a walled-in island surrounded by Communist East Germany. I had a great, exciting job with some really terrific people, with several of whom I remain in regular contact after all these years. This was where Agnes and I met (another great story I'll tell you sometime if you haven't heard it) and married, and where I had the experience of being called something by a Polish army colonel that my interpreter (a very sweet, middle-aged lady named Teresa) blanched at and wouldn't translate ("Oh, Keptin Beelbo, you should not know vat he called you!").

Woodbridge, Virginia. We came back from Germany just before Christmas in 1982 and bought a house here in January of 1983. It was the first home purchase for both of us, and a rude shock ... not just the cost of the house, but discovering the horror of the agonizing commute to work in NoVa traffic.

Wiesbaden, Germany. We went back to Germany in 1987 and rented half of a beautiful house in the foothills of the Taunus Mountains overlooking Wiesbaden. You may remember that I wrote earlier this year about our adventures with its electrical wiring.

Springfield, Virginia. In 1990 we came back to the States for the last time and settled here in Springfield, about 20 miles south of Washington, DC. We began by renting a house that belonged to one of my co-workers, then found one to buy, becoming once again a wholly-owned subsidiary of a mortgage company. We've been in that house since 1992.

And that's all the places I've ever lived. As military careers go, I made far fewer moves than many others do, and have lived in pretty desirable places. I consider myself lucky.

So, where have you lived? Leave a comment and let's see if we were ever neighbors.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo