Taming Brooks
By R.W. Clinger
My arrival at Ranch Brooks in Stockton County, Oklahoma is sweaty-sweet. My instructions are simply stated on the back of Dallas Brooks’ business card: Go to Cabin Longwood, unpack, rest, and meet up with the staff at eight P.M. in Custers’ Hall for introductions.
I’m early, I realize. After unpacking, I decide to meander around the ranch to become acquainted with my new surroundings instead of resting. Dallas Brooks’ ranch is over three thousand acres, and tucked away in the northwestern part of Stockton County, next to the one-light town of Dunford. There are currently four ranch hands; I’m the newly hired fifth. The ranch is spacious and arid, a cowboy’s dream. Everything is thick with the scent of hay and barbecue, and sweetly tainted with ragweed and Q
