It was a late afternoon in the late 1970s. Kenny had put in a full day in Austin with the construction business and was headed to Marble Falls to finish off his day with his ranching activities.

He headed out of Oakhill on Texas 71 and as he approached Paleface Park he looked up to see a white Mercedes Sedan pull directly out in front of him. With a quick reflexes he stomped the brakes and locked up all four tires. In a cloud of blue smoke he skidded right up within a few feet of the drivers door of the Mercedes.

Sitting directly in front of him was none other than a startled Willie Nelson. His eyes were as big as saucers. When he had looked up to see what was happening, evidently he had just frozen in place.

They each collected themselves for a moment, then gave each other a nervous wave and continued on their way, with Kenny heading in to Marble Falls and Willie towards Austin.

That was when Willie was just about at the height of his popularity. He had just recently purchased the Briarcliff Golf Course and built his recording studio and was a common fixture up there.

If Kenny Lewis’s reflexes had been slightly slower, he would mostly be known as the guy that killed Wille. He would be thought of more like another Mark David Chapman, that murdered John Lennon, than the sweet lovable guy that he is now known as.