Dear Garrett..

A lot of what I would be learning about flying and life at ages 20 and 21 would occur in a neighborhood bar called Nate’s. Nate’s was the closest bar to the Watsonville Airport. I thought it was the coolest one around too. Unless I was flying, I joined in the formation of pilots and mechanics leaving the airport promptly at 17:00 and heading to Nate’s.

All of us drank beer except the airport manager, Vern Ackerman. Ackerman liked martinis. I remember the martinis because besides being a great airport manager and pilot, Vern was a good olive catcher. I could toss an olive from one end of the bar and Ackerman could catch the olive in his mouth on the other end of the bar. I never saw him miss. I was a good thrower and he was a better catcher!

We drank Olympia and Hamms beer, on tap. I enjoyed the beer a lot – the taste – the feeling – and the talking that went with it. We drank slow and steady. Sometimes I drank too much. Prior to acquiring my job at the airport, I was not a drinker. My airport family influenced me in many ways. I immensely appreciate their influence in my life.

When I began showing up at Nate’s to drink with the airport boys, Nate would look at Freeman and Bill Wright questioning whether I was of legal age to drink. When I ordered my first beer, I noticed Nate signal Freeman and Bill with a hand and eye gesture if it was okay to serve me the beer I had just ordered? They would signal Nate that it was okay. Freeman responded with a used car salesman looking shrug, hand gesture and eye action. Bill responded with his continuous and irresistible smile and a slight head nod.

Hearing the cracking of the thin ice he was stepping out on by agreeing to serve me solely by virtue of Freeman’s and Bill’s highly questionable attesting of my age, Nate proceeded to pour a draft beer. With what to me looked like forced effort knowing that he was overriding his better judgment (all knowing inner guidance), Nate slid my first ever genuine draft beer ordered in a bar in front of me. I could tell Nate sensed a problem with serving me a beer on my first day in his bar with the airport crew. I would see that same reservation occur in Nate’s body language hundreds of times over the next several months while I continued to show up there daily with my new airport family for our end of the work day unwinding/celebrating time together.

I sensed the wives waiting at home for their husbands for supper held no appreciation for our regular end of day drinking sessions at Nate’s Bar program. Bill always seemed nervous about staying out as late as
Ackerman didn’t attend regularly and always left early. Chad would stay later, around 10 or so. Chad wasn’t married and didn’t have a woman to report to at home. Freeman and I frequently stayed at Nate’s ’til closing time at
That wasn’t as big a problem for me as it was for Freeman. I wasn’t married, Freeman was

Freeman’s wife was a beautiful woman named Sharon. They had four wonderful young children. Sharon was always an amazing host when Freeman invited me home for a BBQ. After our BBQs, I’d frequently spend the night at the Freeman home. I’d sleep on the couch  to wake up in the morning with the kids standing next to the couch looking at me. Nice greeting for a new day!

I learned a lot about both flying and life during the year I spent with my airport colleagues in Nate’s Bar. It was actually the happiest year of my life thanks to my experiences in Nate’s along with the other things that made it so.

We eventually celebrated my 21st birthday in Nate’s. I could see Nate breathe a welcome sigh of relief when he saw that I was finally 21. I was relieved too. Now I was really one of the boys!