"The deal of the Century ..."

Best to all Veterans

Note: I originally wrote this on Veterans Day in 2021. I’d like to repeat this with one edit - my dad is now 101.

After retiring from the military, my dad worked in the real estate industry. He once told me: “The deal of the century comes along every year.” It sounded like a Yogi-ism (à la Yogi Berra).

My dad meant it sarcastically since he was always hearing that this or that deal was the ‘deal of the century’. But it always stuck with me. And to me it means we can usually be choosy when buying real estate, another deal will come along.

Of course, right now, it is hard to be choosy with so little inventory.

My dad also said the only mistake he ever made in real estate was selling! He believes you should only buy real estate and never sell (of course, sometimes people need to sell in order to buy the next home).

The reason I mention my dad (99 years young and doing well) is it is Veterans Day (Now 101).

Here are a couple of photos of my dad landing his Corsair with a wheel shot off on the USS Bennington after a WWII mission. And there is quite a story here. Because his plane was damaged, he was the last pilot to return from the mission. The entire fleet waited for him - for one man - putting the fleet at risk. As soon as he landed, the fleet turned and raced to sea.

Notice the brave sailors, on both sides of the ship, running to help my dad. Heroes all.

My dad signed up with the Navy at the age of 19 after Dec 7, 1941. After WWII, he flew as a Navy test pilot (he also flew in Korea and Vietnam).

My dad was the first Navy pilot to fly a jet, and who checked him out on that jet? Chuck Yeager (my dad still has the logbook).

He also flew out of Miramar (that is why our family lived in San Diego) and he was the real-life Top Gun.

Best to all the Veterans!