Dear Garrett..

As the reality of that extra bad day settled in and I arrived at my dismal and temporary home, the spinning in my head began to slowly transition into resolve. The resolve that devloped was, “I need to get another job.” As the day progressed, I settled into regrouping and adapting to my new unexpected set of life circumstances.

My first order of business was figuring out how to go about getting another job. I didn’t yet know what to do about the failed attempt to earn my pilot’s license. I still owed the flight school for the past few lessons – – was out of a job – – had no money – – and had no transportation other than hitching rides with my mom and step dad.

Mentioning to my family that I needed to get another job produced a suggestion that I call a family friend named Tommy Stout. I knew Mr. Stout from the church we attended in the Las Lomas suburb of Watsonville. I liked Mr. Stout. He was from Oklahoma. He was a tall thin cowboy. He had what appeared to be a nice family. Mr. Stout lived on a ranch and was well connected with ranching operations in the Watsonville area. Often when I had visited with Mr. Stout and it came time to part, he would tell me with his Oklahoma accent, “Keep on the right trail.” I always liked it when he told me that. I’d feel a surge of encouragement and resolve when I heard those words. The words seemed extra special coming from him – – like maybe he was saying the words to remind himself as well?

Mr. Stout told me that he had heard the Kaydell Angus Farm might be looking for “A hand”. He said he would check and let me know. Within hours, I heard back from Mr. Stout. Yes, Kaydell was looking for another ranch hand. I promptly applied for the job and was hired on the spot.

I was hired as a herdsman. I instantly fell in love with my new job and adapted to it quickly. The ranch manager was Walt Davies. There was a senior herdsman named Red. I was the junior herdsman. The ranch owner was Charles Kring. Mr. Kring was one of the engineers who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge.

We worked hard and steady all day long running the ranch six days a week. On Sundays we only fed the livestock in the morning and late afternoon taking off the rest of the day barring any emergencies which arose from time to time. We had Registered Angus Cattle on 300 acres of beautiful California rolling hills in the Monterey Bay area. The year I worked there we won the Best Ten Head Award at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

Though the development of my flying career was on hold, it was not forgotten. During the past year, I had been falling deeper in love with flying. The other love in my life was farming and ranching.

As the reality of that extra bad day settled in and I arrived at my dismal and temporary home, the spinning in my head began to slowly transition into resolve. The resolve that devloped was, “I need to get another job.” As the day progressed, I settled into regrouping and adapting to my new unexpected set of life circumstances.

My first order of business was figuring out how to go about getting another job. I didn’t yet know what to do about the failed attempt to earn my pilot’s license. I still owed the flight school for the past few lessons – – was out of a job – – had no money – – and had no transportation other than hitching rides with my mom and step dad.

Mentioning to my family that I needed to get another job produced a suggestion that I call a family friend named Tommy Stout. I knew Mr. Stout from the church we attended in the Las Lomas suburb of Watsonville. I liked Mr. Stout. He was from Oklahoma. He was a tall thin cowboy. He had what appeared to be a nice family. Mr. Stout lived on a ranch and was well connected with ranching operations in the Watsonville area. Often when I had visited with Mr. Stout and it came time to part, he would tell me with his Oklahoma accent, “Keep on the right trail.” I always liked it when he told me that. I’d feel a surge of encouragement and resolve when I heard those words. The words seemed extra special coming from him – – like maybe he was saying the words to remind himself as well?

Mr. Stout told me that he had heard the Kaydell Angus Farm might be looking for “A hand”. He said he would check and let me know. Within hours, I heard back from Mr. Stout. Yes, Kaydell was looking for another ranch hand. I promptly applied for the job and was hired on the spot.

I was hired as a herdsman. I instantly fell in love with my new job and adapted to it quickly. The ranch manager was Walt Davies. There was a senior herdsman named Red. I was the junior herdsman. The ranch owner was Charles Kring. Mr. Kring was one of the engineers who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge.

We worked hard and steady all day long running the ranch six days a week. On Sundays we only fed the livestock in the morning and late afternoon taking off the rest of the day barring any emergencies which arose from time to time. We had Registered Angus Cattle on 300 acres of beautiful California rolling hills in the Monterey Bay area. The year I worked there we won the Best Ten Head Award at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

Though the development of my flying career was on hold, it was not forgotten. During the past year, I had been falling deeper in love with flying. The other love in my life was farming and ranching.