TBS 2-67 Cruisebook_Updated_7Jan23

Consultant-Minneapolis (81-83); Heavy Equipment
Maintenance (After Market Products) Consultant,
Minneapolis (83-84); Grumman-St. Augustine
Corporation, St. Augustine, FL: Post Production Test
Pilot Malaysian Air Force A-4 Skyhawk Refurbishment
Project (84-88). Overhauled 40 A-4C Skyhawks and
converted 4 into 2-seater trainers. The jets were flown
to Malaysia by contracted Ferry Pilots, several I knew
from Marine Corps Service. Routes of flight: St.
Augustine > NAS Willow Grove (PA) > Goose Bay
(Labrador) > Sonderstrom (Greenland) > Keflavik
(Iceland) > RAF Upper Hayford (England) > Naval Base
Sigonella (Sicily), Luxor (Egypt), Dubai (UAE), Bombay
& Calcutta (India), Quantan (Malaysia); Airborne
Express Inc.-Pilot (88-89); CoreTemp, Inc., St.
Petersburg, FL-Sales Manager (90-92); Mediq/PRN,
Inc., Tampa, FL / Ft. Myers, FL-Branch Manager/Sales
Medical Equipment Rental Division (92-94); Midwest
Regional Manager, St. Louis, MO (94-95); Computer
Renaissance-Retail Store and Service Center, Owner/
Mgr.,Fairview Heights, IL (95-08); The Griggs Cattle Co.,
Ashland, Wi – Purchased 134 acre small dairy farm
but with decent old house built 1933. Reverted farm to
“grass-fed beef cattle operation”. Operating a small 25
cow brood herd on 128 acres of pasture, breed is Red
Devon (primarily) but some Angus in their genes. Cows
bred on farm by farm bulls (2) and give birth April thru
June (typically). Steers and heifers are culled for beef
at 24 to 30 months. Heifers chosen to breed are bred
after age 2 (24 months). Have 1 part-time helper, Matt,
who’s worked with me 6 years. Brain injury from an
auto accident at 18 ruined his chances to become a
Second Platoon
Badger football player. We produce about 5,000 lbs of
beef products annually and sell 85% to local co-op
Bayfield Foods which markets it through our CSA
Program and a wholesale program. Annual beef
revenues $30k(+/-).
Plans for the Future: Before going into “the future”, I
must share some of my past. After moving to
Minnesota in 1979 and being laid off by Braniff in ’80, it
was a tough time. Thankfully I grew up (to age 10
before we moved to Florida) and still had beau coup
cousins in “the Cities”. They were all helpful in looking
after our best interests. The cousin with the
Engineering Consulting opportunity put us on the
company family insurance plan. In January ’80 our
third child was born, Joshua. In 1982
October of that year we had an “October Blizzard”
and both my sons went outside to run their sleds down
the slope in our front yard. Josh was 2 years 8 months
and very active and could pull his little toboggan up
the front yard slope, and slide down the hill in it.
Ginger tells the story that while she was out there
monitoring them the phone rang and she went inside
to answer it. When she came out the boys were AWOL.
She searched the neighborhood for over an hour
driving around blocks in ever widening circles. Then
she saw the older boy Chip on a hill at the end of a
dead-end street a block from the house. He was
soaking wet in his snowsuit. “Where’s your brother?”
She asked. “In the pond.” He said. So out of the car and
with Chip in the lead guided her to “the pond”. The
boys had jumped on the thinly ice covered pond and
gone through the ice. Chip had enough leg under him
to get out of the water. Josh didn’t. Mom waded in and
2‐71