When I first saw the land, I was soaring high above it. I thought we had left behind the farms and ranches. Expanses of dense oak forests passed far below us. But suddenly a valley clearing was shining in the late day sun.
I had never seen anything so perfect. Under a down of spring-green barley, shimmering pastures and gentle hills undulated toward the embracing Santa Lucia Mountains. “This is it…this is the ranch.” Archie veered his two-seated helicopter toward the farmhouse, the only dwelling as far as the eye could see.
“God, is it beautiful!” I got most of those words out as Archie banked his chopper sharply. “Look at the deer!” More than a hundred of these creatures bounded gracefully through the waving barley. The helicopter had stirred their twighlight grazing, and they took to thier own flight. The whirling rotors kept pace with the leaping deer. As the woodland’s corps de ballet streamed over the drift fences, Archie dropped for a closer view. Without warning, a terrible shuddering rattled the helicopter. The craft seemed on the verge of breaking apart. Archie desperately tried to keep control, frantically working to save our lives. Terrifying seconds split off into infinity. My young life, or at least the last few incongruous months of it, flashed by. I was starring in Burkes’ Law, a television series that was one of producer Aaron Spelling’s first. The show featured a Rolls-Royce copy and his high-IQ sidekick, marshaling a parade of renowned guest stars. Complete Chapter from Page 4