There was a time in the 80s when times were really good in the construction business. I was flying high, as was Kenny and our friend Coy. We all had our own businesses but we worked together at times, hiring each other’s companies to help out on projects. Kenny & Coy had a lot more in common with each other than with me. During that phase of their lives they each were without the benefit of a wife at the time or at least they acted like it. They worked hard and partied hard as the old saying goes. Now me, I was mostly a home body, not wanting to even think about how much child support for 5 boys might cost, I was home every night.

We ate lunch together almost daily and that like every else always turned into a game of chance. We all 3 would get a quarter out and simultaneously flipping it in the air and palm it. When showing it, the odd man would be the one to buy. We did that for a long time when one day I was visiting with Madeline’s grandfather, Pops. He was a very accomplished machinist. I got him to shave the faces off of 4 quarters, leaving each ½ the original thickness. I then took them and super glued them together to produce 2 quarters with tails on both sides.

I guess because I was thinking back to the hay hauling days or some other times that I may have not been treated fairly by my brother, I picked Coy as my accomplice. So from that moment on if we had coffee I would intentionally show a head up on another quarter so it assured that Coy or I would lose. But when we had big juicy steaks, the special coins would always be used to insure that Kenny paid. Besides the money savings, the best part was seeing Kenny’s total disgust with losing. He really doesn’t enjoy losing.

It came time for the 3 of us to go to Utah on a hunting trip. We rented a motorhome for the trip. Couple of thousand dollars for that. Yep Kenny lost. We filled it up with beverages and such for several hundred more dollars. Nothing but the finest brands. Yep, you guessed it.

Sometime after we returned from the trip (that trip is a story unto itself – more on that another day) we each carelessly stuck out special quarters in a pay phone and they were gone forever.

For whatever reason one day we told him about it. He swell up like an old toad for a couple of days and wouldn’t even play odd man out with us. Heck I don’t think he would even meet us for lunch. Soon things returned to normal and he only gets testy now when someone brings up the subject of the double tailed quarters.

There’s Always More To The Story

The Doubled Tailed Quarters story is always a favorite of mine. When Kenny got one of the original Angora Chronicles books from me, he took it and really dissected it overnight and the next morning called to ask why I didn’t finish the story about the Doubled Tailed Quarters. I knew that was coming so I had my ready answer. I hadn’t told the rest of the story as a hook to get him on Facebook and get him involved.

Anytime that story gets told, he always adds the karma part, the last laugh for him.

It doesn’t appear he will take the bait, so here goes -(from Kenny’s own writing)

On a trip to Vegas, a guys weekend was planned shorty after the quarters were lost and gone. We resumed our Odd-Man Out game with him, Coy and me.

We flipped to see who bought airfare. Big Ron lost.

We flipped to see who paid for taxi fare while we were in Vegas. Once again Rob lost.

We stopped at a swanky golf club to load up on hats. One of every color for us all three – that was the big deal in that day. You guess it, he lost again.

We had been in a hurry to leave out of Austin so had parked in Short Term Parking for a few days. That was several hundred dollars. Another loss was rack up for RL.

Following are my, Ronnie Lewis, own views on the after-story.

I’m still not sure, but I think I was cheated somehow. But I could never prove it.

Luckily we were all 3 almost broke soon afterwards so we didn’t have to play that stupid game anymore.