WHOA!!

 while at AZL i saw somw funny things, some scary things and some foolish things. along the south edge of the feedlot was a landing strip. it ran along the south edge the full width of the lot. maybe a half mile long. when ever a plane wanted to land they had to circle a few times to alert the ground crews. they would then block all the feed allies that fed out of the yard with out a road a feed truck could roll out in front of a landing plane.
     along the south end of that yard was the loading/ unloading facilities and the saddle house for section 2.  the super for AZL was a pilot and flew his own plane , often landing at the yard . problem was he was a avid drinker, and had no problem flying under the influence.
     we had been busier than  normal on this one friday. cattle commin, cattle goin sortin and the branding chute runnin at full bore.  we had a fat truck runnin late and we were loading him at 3 p.m. instead of 7 a.m., with all the racket, the dust , and the preoccupation of the loading that truck no one noticed the plane circling.  i had put the last 4 head on the truck and the driver lowered the gate when i noticed   the feed trucks were blocking the feed allys . the problem was that loaded cattle truck was pulling away from the chute, right into the path of the taxing plane. before anyone could do a thing that plane did a  nose stand bending the prop, sending rocks ever which way like bullets. my horse was behind a solid steel wall that comprised the loading chute. i was fortunate enough to drop down out of sight.  the plane had set back down on its landing gear, the truck was stopped and the driver was 100 yards away in a open feild!! the plane was nestled right up to the cattle truck as close as you could get with out touching.
      inside the plane was the super , passed out. a thermose of martinis rollin around the floor of the plane.
       the truck driver settled his nerves and went on to l.a. with his load, the super was in the office sleeping it off and a airplane mechanic picked up the plane the next day and rebuilt the front end.  when i left the employ of AZL they had not repainted the loading chute, and it looked like a machine gun had used it for practice!! put in for hazardous duty pay but  no one saw the humour in it!!