Do they happen? – You be the judge; Here’s one of my more bizarre experiences for you to consider.

Early during our BC (Before Children) married life we lived in Idaho. I was attending school and had the opportunity to work one summer at the National Reactor Test Station (run at that tine by the Atomic Energy Commission – the site still exists but the names have been altered since the Department of Energy {DOE} has been established). This necessitated my living in Southern Idaho a considerable distance from my wife who couldn’t leave her job.

At that time there was no housing local to the test station so everyone had to stay elsewhere on the Snake River Plain. Most people lived in Idaho Falls, but some lived elsewhere such as the nearby town of Arco. Transportation was provided to and from the test station by a fleet of always packed buses. The trip from Idaho Falls took less than an hour. The station was rather large (in area) so the bus drivers doubled as on site taxi drivers during the day.

I needed a place to stay while working at the station that was within my budget and was convenient to work (that is, on a bus route). I choose Idaho Falls as the location for my temporary abode and set about finding an affordable room I could rent by reading the classified section in the local newspaper.

I couldn’t afford an apartment and even rooms were taxing to my budget but eventually I found a promising ad and called to inquire about location and availability. The conversation went something like this:

“I’m calling about the room you have for rent. The rent is $50./month. Is that right?”

There was a long pause at the other end before a reply, “How did you hear about the room?”

“I read it in the paper. You do have a room for rent, don’t you?” I asked.

“Uh, Yes,” was the hesitant reply.

“It’s $50./month?” I inquired.

“I guess so. I hadn’t realized we’d placed the ad yet.”

“Can I see it? What’s the address?” I followed up. It sounded like a great deal even for those days and I didn’t want to lose out. The conversation seemed a little strange to me and when I arrived to inspect the room I found out why. I had dialed a wrong number. Needing the room I moved on and thanked my luck that I was able to find such a great deal by accident.

And it was a great deal. The room turned out to be a three room apartment in the attic of a nice house and far exceeded any expectations that I had for temporary housing. Indeed I’d been lucky so I immediately contracted to stay there for the entire summer.

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Tags: family, odd

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