Linda is a friend of mine and has been since 1972. But in addition, she has been important to my life in several different ways. She and her husband and 2 children lived across the street from us in our first home in Bethesda. Billy played with the boys and Linda and I played tennis together. After 3 years they moved to Rock Creek Hills in Kensington but we still got together. I was in graduate school while Linda spent a lot of time at Columbia Country Club. We operated in different worlds but we were good friends.
Then one day Linda called me to say that her friend Robin, who was a real estate agent, had just listed a big split level house in poor condition in Rock Creel hills in Kensington. She thought we should buy it. Ken and I were not even thinking about a bigger house, but to humor her I went to look at it. I told Ken how awful it looked. Our Bethesda house was charming and in excellent condition while the new house was a wreck. But when Ken saw it we decided to buy it and we did. We fixed it up and it turned out to be a wonderful family home. Linda was responsible for getting us in the door.
Two years later, I was finishing graduate school so I was thinking about a job. Linda knew this. Linda and her husband had purchased a summer property in Maine. Linda wanted to renovate. Her husband did not. Linda invited me out for lunch. We drank a liter of wine. During the lunch, she suggested we get our real estate license together and work for the same company. She wanted to sell three houses a year so she could pay for the Maine house. And she thought I might like to do the same. We filled out our applications right then and there and we took the class together.
The next thing we did was interview brokers to see where we wanted to work. Neither of us were prepared to have anyone dictate to us our hours or responsibilities so most of the brokers we rejected. But we selected a small firm, Thomas and Kelly. After a few months, I suggested to Ken that if I did my job well, I could contribute to the family coffer which I did. I went on to have a full blown and lucrative career in real estate, while Linda continued to sell three or four houses a year. But Linda was responsible for me getting into the real estate business.
Linda retired the same year as me and they still spend summers in Maine. Linda and I are good friends except I never see her. But I have always been grateful for her contributions to my life and the life of my family. No telling what I would have done without her.
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