Citizens Band Radio License Discovered

While preparing to throw out another box of stuff from my mothers old home { she save damned near everything} I discovered something from my early youth. My FCC Citizens Band License. Yes , you used to have to have one to operate a higher wattage transciever.  I am talking late 60's. My call sign was KBU 5271. Back then it was known as the poor man's ham radio. So with a used set , and a ground plane antenna bought in Connecticut I began broadcasting out of 110 Scott Avenue in Castleton , NY 12033. Talked all over the Capital Region. If atmospheric conditions were right sometimes much farther. To be honest , my set had been modified so I was broadcasting above the legal limit of 5 watts. Probably around 7 to 8 watts. It filled my time in the summer of 69 but my senior year kept me quite busy and I spent less time with my hobby. My last really solid memory was on my Christmas vacation of 1969. We were  having a snow storm in the region. I was up late around 1:00 am . Tuned around  , called out to a couple of people with no result. Suddenly I heard a distant voice with an unusual accent. I answered and we began to communicate. Low and behold he was a ham radio operator in Johannesburg , South Africa. I was flabbergasted. I was getting my signal all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Trust me , most of the time back then you got around 50-55 miles on an average broadcast. The atmosphere must have somehow been in near perfection. We talked for about 10 minutes when our voices began to fade. He got my address and sent me what was called a QSL card which was a verification notice. The card was in the box as well.  So , there is a memory from way back , it is interesting to see how finding a piece of paper can trigger a vivid memory that you have not thought about for close to 45 yrs. 10/7.