Don Ottinger

I left Thorntown soon after graduation and have been pretty much a nomad since then. After 4 years in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy, I was off to Valdosta, GA in 1973 for 6 months then to Biloxi, MS for 5 months. From Biloxi it was off to Sumter, SC where I was able to finally unpack all the boxes and settle in for 2 years. I also met a beautiful lady by the name of Renee. We married and soon after found ourselves on the road to Dayton, OH with a son Phillip. Dayton was another quick 2 year stay and then it was off to Rome, NY. I finally figured out the Air Force at that point - if you move way north where the snow is deep and the winters very cold, they'll let you stay for 3 years. Rome was cold - but the small town atmosphere was great. From Rome we moved to Hampton, VA for 3 years and then to Montgomery, AL. We actually spent 4 years in Montgomery and it was then that I decided I was bound to be a southerner and started to pick up Renee's accent. We left Montgomery in 1989 bound for Fussa, Japan (just outside of Tokyo) for 3 years, then to Tampa, FL for 3 years, and eventually to Vienna, VA (just outside Washington, DC) for 4 years. At that point we decided 26 years of Air Force life was enough. In 1999, I put the uniform in the closet and joined a technology consulting company. But the travel didn't stop. We left Vienna in 2002 (7 years in the same place - a record!) and moved to Dayton, OH. We lived in Dayton for 8 years (another record!) and moved to Ponte Vedra, FL in 2010. Is Ponte Vedra the last stop? Of course not. We moved to Palm Harbor, FL in July. Those northern Florida winters got just too cold.
And then we moved again. Now we're in Tampa, FL I swear this is our next to last move. The last move - assisted living in Key West!