Author: lewisotr

One Hell Of A Guy, If I do say so myself.
Crazy Times, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings

The Fire Alarms

lewisotr

Within a year of Madeline and I marrying we had lived in a big mobile home, then moved next door to a little trailer house (rented from an old couple that meddled) and in an old motel in Burnet (because there was nowhere else to rent). Actually that all happened in the first 10 month of our marriage. Then we rented a mobile home in a Mobile Home Park in Oak Hill, in the western edge of Austin on Texas 71. When answering a knock on the door one evening we found a fellow there that had good news for … Continue reading The Fire Alarms

Crazy Times, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Rolling Back Odometers

lewisotr

In an earlier story I told about working during my senior year of high school at an Auto Dealership. I was in the Distributive Education Program, allowing me to spend the afternoon actually working on a job where I made money. For my job I moved cars around, cleaned up cars, took out the trash and vacuumed the floors in the offices. I did pretty much anything that was needed to be done. I drove cars around to keep the battery’s charged up. My most important job was rolling back odometers. That was a common practice in those days. If … Continue reading Rolling Back Odometers

Amazing Things, Meeting New People2 Comments

The Little Actress

lewisotr

Not long after we moved to Bertram, a new pastor was sent to the Methodist Church. He and his wife were very lovely people. They had arrived here after spending time in Goldthwaite, Texas. While there they had become acquainted with a young couple that had a young daughter and twin sons that were toddlers. One time the little girl came to spend a few days with them in Bertram. They brought her over to our place see the donkeys and the lambs. I was heading down to feed the catfish in our pond so she wanted to go. I … Continue reading The Little Actress

Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Lost Fuel Truck

lewisotr

We were down in Houston working many years ago. I had a cousin, Butch Martin working with us. He had an old friend from Austin that was needing a job, so we found a place to fit Wilber in. He was an equipment operator and he also served as our fuel truck driver, which was just a part time gig. Butch and Wilber each had a bit of a drinking problem, and always found a joint to call home everywhere they went. One Monday morning when we showed up for work and Wilber was missing in action. We didn’t think … Continue reading The Lost Fuel Truck

Aging, Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Martin’s, Father and Son Roadhands

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Uncle Bob Martin worked for me a couple of times in the 70s. He was slow and steady but was accomplishing something with every motion. He was my maternal grandmother, Nancy’s brother. Uncle Bob’s oldest son Butch Martin worked for me several times. We was opposite of his Dad. He was fast and all over everything, but man could he move dirt. You just always knew it wouldn’t last long, before he’d twist off and not show up. Each time I’d swear that was the last. But he had an uncanny way of arriving when you most needed someone in … Continue reading The Martin’s, Father and Son Roadhands

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Kenny Lewis, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Writing Letters To My Brother

lewisotr

I never was much of a writer when I was younger. But I told myself that I’d stay in touch with my brother, Kenny by writing him often while he was away in Vietnam and also when he was stationed in Germany. Telephone calls were not possible in Vietnam, and much too expensive when he got to Germany. I would write and tell him what all was going on in my life. I’d tell him about everything crazy happening in Smithwick. There always seemed like something Cec had gotten into that needed to be told. He wrote back to me … Continue reading Writing Letters To My Brother

Aging, Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

How I Began My Woodworking Hobby

lewisotr

We have a very unique table. We got it from Madeline’s mom, Maxine, many years ago. It was a coffee table brought back from Venezuela by Maxine and Ted in the 60s. It’s not just a regular coffee table, it is huge. It’s made for a crosscut piece of Honduran Mahogany that is approx 3 1/2″ thick by 4’/ 5′ oval diameter. It’s a very impressive piece. The legs are made from branches of same type of tree that have been turned down on the end to make a dowel that fits into a drilled hole on the underside of … Continue reading How I Began My Woodworking Hobby

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Things We Find Out About Ourselves. (August 8, 2016)

lewisotr

I attended a funeral today, along with many others. It was a funeral where tears were shed, but no real outward displays of the terrible sadness that you know many felt. That comes from deep faith. That comes from the knowing and understanding that there are more good things to come. I left that service a bit saddened by the loss of an old friend, but that’s a normal reaction. I had a completely different emotion that I felt going away from there today. A complete feeling of dismay. It stems from an incident that supposedly happened around 50 years … Continue reading The Things We Find Out About Ourselves. (August 8, 2016)

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Smithwick1 Comment

Grover Simpson – Game Warden

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I ran across this story one time. While I never had any direct dealings with the renowned Game Warden, Grover Simpson, my dad, Cecil Lewis eluded him for many years. There were many close calls. Even stories of Cec hiding out all night long while Grover set waiting for him to show up back at home. Or having to abandon a vehicle and make a several mile walk home to avoid being caught while road hunting. THE LAWMAN WHO BUSTED LBJ By Mike Cox Game warden was a family friend with a quick smile, a foul mouth and a lifetime … Continue reading Grover Simpson – Game Warden

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Meeting New People, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Mrs. Lily Mae Little

lewisotr

Back in 76 we were needing something to do. (That is what we say in the construction business when our inventory of work has been depleted) An acquaintance of ours, a competitor, had landed a big project up in North Texas, in the Possum Kingdom Area. It was more work than his crews could adequately handle, so we contracted for part of the project. We would be laying a 10 mile long segment of 24” water line. I was only 24 years old at the time. Madeline, our not yet 2 year old son Matthew and I relocated to that … Continue reading Mrs. Lily Mae Little