Dropout
After graduating high school in 1979, it was a given that I would go on to college at a University of Wisconsin extension school. That seemed to be the plan of everyone in our town. I had no career goals or any idea what I wanted to do with my life. I went one year to the University of Wisconsin – Stout, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. I completed two semesters there, then dropped out before starting the third. I had no personal goals and poor career guidance.
My mom got in contact with her first cousin, Esther Arine, who lived on a horse ranch called Sun Country Farm in Los Olivos, California. It was many years later that I learned Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was not far from there. Esther’s daughter, Jackie, my second cousin, was the person who ran the ranch. They boarded and bred horses, mainly quarter horses. My mom probably told Esther I was looking for a job and could I go out there to do some hard labor for awhile. Since I had already been to California on my own trip a few years previous and I was considering going back, this seemed like a good opportunity.
Heading West
In the spring of 1981, at the age of 19, I drove my 1975 Dodge Dart Sport 3-speed all the way from Wisconsin to California. A word about that car: The shifter would occasionally get stuck in 2nd gear. I would have to stop the car, crawl under it with a hammer, bang on the linkage, then get back in and start driving again. The timing belt in the engine was a problem. I couldn’t coast while in 2nd gear without the car jerking violently. so I have to get it into 3rd gear quickly, or put it in neutral at slower speeds for awhile.
After a few days on the road, I rolled into Sun Country Farm in the middle of the night. I slept in the back seat until morning. I was woken up by the sound of four barking dogs. That was when I first met Jackie.
She gave me an idea of what I would be doing and introduced me to Jean, the guy I would be working with and sharing a trailer on the property.
My French Co-worker
Jean was from France. Short, stocky, good looking guy. His hair was disheveled. Because he did a lot of physical labor every day, he knew how to take his time. Me, on the other hand, a young guy who didn’t know how to pace myself, frustrated him. He owned a white horse that was corralled near our trailer. He tried to teach me how to ride it, but he had no saddle so it had to be bareback. I had no experience with horses, so I would have none of it.
The very first night Jean made sweetbread, which is organ meat from the thymus gland or pancreas. He covered it in a very rich cream sauce. I never had it before – and never plan to have it again. I threw up all night.
As ranch hands, Jean and I put down irrigation pipe, harvested hay, put up new fences, cleaned horse pens, and mowed the lawn. I did all the cleaning of the horse pens and filling the water buckets. Some of the horses had strong personalities. Many tried to kick me, bite me, or knock me down. I hated that chore. One day we had to put Creosote on new fence posts. I got it on my arms and had an allergic reaction. My arms were red for days.
We spent a lot of our free time at the table in the trailer. We did not have a TV, but did have a radio that also played cassettes. Jean had a handful of albums from the band, America. This was my introduction to them. We played cards and drank wine.
Nude Beach
One day Jean and I went to Gaviotta Beach, which was on the Pacific Ocean. Not far from there was a nude beach. We walked down the cliffs to the water and took off our clothes. We walked a mile along the shore, then headed back. That was a first time experience for me. If you asked me to do that today, I would have too much shame.
Illegals
There was a family of illegal Mexicans who lived on the property, but down the road, a bit. The father worked on the ranch, but I almost never saw them. Occasionally I would take the back road off the property and wave to them.
Horse Breeding
Since they bred horses on occasion, I was allowed to watch the process of the teasing of a mare, then capture the semen of the stud inside a large sheath. I assume the sperm was then quickly frozen for the time in the future to be inseminated into the proper mare candidates.
Ranch Hand
The ranch hired a young woman from Australia to groomed and exercise the horses. She was a cutie. Probably five or six years older than me. I suspected that she and Jean had had a relationship in the past. I knew she had a boyfriend. Apparently she and he had a fight one day. In frustration, she asked me if I wanted to go to a nude beach in the afternoon. As a 20 year old red-blooded American male, I was not going to say no! However, when Jean and Jackie got wind of the upcoming date, they forbid me to go. They knew something I didn’t and probably prevented me from getting into a fight with her boyfriend. Jackie instructed me to call off the date. I reluctantly followed their advice.
Leon Barnard – Friend of Jackie
Another character I met while at the ranch was an older man named Leon Barnard. I never found out how he knew Jackie and why he came and went. It did seem like he was hiding out at the ranch. He made pocket money by washing windows in the neighborhood. All he had was a squeegee, a bucket and some rags. (He later gifted the squeegee to me). Leon was once the publicist for the music band, The Doors. He was interested in a new wave religious group (cult) in the Santa Barbara area called “The Summit Lighthouse” – aka “Church Universal and Triumphant”. The organization exists to this day. He lent me some of their books. Since I was at a stage in my life where I was seeking the Ultimate Truth, I ate it up. We spent a few evenings driving out into the wilderness and chanting. One time he took me to one of their buildings in Santa Barbara.
Leon prefers the company of young men. He may have been attracted to me physically, but never acted inappropriately and I never gave him any indication I was interested in him (I’m heterosexual all the way, baby!) It was quite interesting to maintain a friendship with an older man who was non-threatening. He definitely had world experience that I admired and was willing to learn from.
Getting Bored
After a couple of months cleaning up horse poop, I started to slack off. I was bored. Ester gave me a ‘talking to’, but it had no affect. Jackie invited another relative (Lou, from Washington state) to help out on the ranch for the summer. Ultimately he was there to replace me.
Lou and the Hooker
The first weekend Lou was there, he and Jean and I drove to Santa Barbara in Jean’s car. It was a small European model. He drove it FAST through the mountains because he used to race cars in France. I started to get car sick, so he let me drive for awhile. Jean said would get a prostitute for the new kid. We thought he was joking, but we stopped at a diner and he picked up a girl and brought her back with us to the ranch. I have a feeling he knew her from a previous time. Lou and I didn’t want to have anything to do with her. We were quiet the whole way back to the ranch. Once we got there, we went right to our rooms and closed the door. The woman spent the night with Jean. When we got up in the morning, she was crying. Jean paid her with a large jar of change. He then dropped her off near the highway to hitchhike back to Santa Barbara. The entire episode was surreal!
Sightseeing to the North
The new kid had taken my room and I was now sleeping on the couch. A week of that and I decided to leave the ranch and head up the coast. No particular destination. I drove through San Fransisco, Redding, then into Ashland, Oregon. I didn’t have a plan. I spent a couple of nights sleeping at a rest stop. I earned a few dollars cleaning windows at businesses in town. I decided to just go back to Wisconsin, but I was out of money. I had to have my mom wire me enough to get back home!
Letters to my Mom
Letters from Leon
A few years after leaving the ranch, I made an attempt to get in contact with Leon by mail. I wrote to the ranch address and my letter was forwarded to Leon. I lost touch with him in 1985. I tried to find him again in the 1990s, but was not successful.
Rather than post his replies directly on this page, I am providing links to PDF files that you can download and read.
April 26, May 27, 1983 – Two letter from Leon Barnard to Paul Konopacki
September 22, 1984 – Letter from Leon Barnard to Paul Konopacki