So the last few weeks has been a complete whirlwind.  Once the Holidays were over, my relief showed up so went to go collect him and begin turnover where our headquarters is located and where he will base himself out of.  He is older but not in Officer years.  He will do fine I am sure.  Once he learns how to sell the program and himself he will be killing them just like I did.  So the night before I was to head to where our HQ is I was sitting in my buddies room when an im request came in.  It was from a guy in the British Army I had met two years ago while in Baghdad, Iraq.  It just so happened that he was on his way to the same city as me, back from leave but not with the British Army this time, but a private security company.  He was as shocked to hear from me as i was him.  So we agreed to try to meet up at the coffee shop near the airport, were my HQ is.  I get settled in and the reliefs get here and we try to get a ride out to the airport but no one is going to Dave and I miss each other for coffee.  Luckily we have each others cell phone.  The next day my relief and indeed to fly out and start the turnover process which includes a meet and great of everyone I do business with. So we get to the airport, check in and we have an hour and a half until take off.  I am not one to sit still long and I needed to show him around anyway so when the French soldier walked off who was keeping an eye on all of us for the flight back we ducked out.  Enroute to meet the guys at the airport who would eventually be helping my guy like they helped me I decided to show him the coffee shop.  I ordered up two cappucinos and as walked out, who was sitting at the table ten feet away, my home boy Dave Brisco.  I could not believe my eyes, he just happened to be having aa coffee with his mates at the same place and same time.  Unbelievable!

Not to be out done, a few months back around the last week of November when I was on travel last at the same airport, stuck for the night, I was inline to get some dinner when a guy aproached me and said, Tim , it me Max, I Max!  It was my buddy Max Buzzoni I  had met and become friends with him in Djibouti last year. He was one of several Italian helicopter pilots stationed aboard the ITS Granetiere.  Their ship frequently pulled into Djibouti and I being the people person I am would go and see if I could do anything for them, and if they needed to get rid of some cappuchino, I could help with that as well.  It did not stop there, we ended up having dinner that night and catching up over several missed months and some of the people we both knew, to include Luca Roseano, who was kinda the ring leader of the helo pilots on the ship.  He was funny, his english was great and he was married to a US Navy helicopter pilot, and both were stationed in Italy.  As a side note Luca and Michelle had just had a baby recently and he sent me the Christmas card/picture via email just days before I ran into Max.  That night after dinner, we went back to the Italian compound and searched for another member of the Granetiere crew, Andrea Martino.  Of course we could not find him.  Since he slept so much whenever we could not find him we always assumed he was sleeping.  The next day while still waiting for a flight, I was on my way to the gym and who walks up behind me and yells my name?  Andrea himself!  We were standing there in the middle of the parking lot and not believing what our eyes are seeing!  Can I run into anyone else in this place?  So with the invitation to join the Italian command for a pasta dinner, my relief and I departed.