Category: Amazing Things

Amazing Things, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Aged Bourbon

lewisotr

I have told many people before that I lost all taste for bourbon after drinking a fifth and a pint of Old Crow in about 30 minutes one time, and eventually woke up in jail the next day. But that was when I was 16 years old. I just never could stand the smell, much less the taste of it after that. That was well over 50 years ago. I have several bottles that have been in the top of a cabinet, leftover from when the popular thing to do was hand out whiskey as gifts at Christmas time, in … Continue reading Aged Bourbon

Aging, Amazing Things, Funny Happenings, Grandchildren, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Girls and Their Music

lewisotr

I never had the chance to be around teenage girls, since I was a teenager myself. Well except the ones my 5 boys managed to drag to the house with them as they got old enough to date. When I started getting granddaughters, (Holly now a couple of years out of college & Emma started her second year of college last month) the two older ones got old enough to really start getting into music and needing me to take them places, I was in for a real treat. I learned to cope with their music by buying albums they … Continue reading The Girls and Their Music

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, My FriendsLeave a comment

Making A Case For Eavesdropping

lewisotr

It happened on the steps on the church house. Several of us were lingering outside the building after church one day. As I spoke with one elderly gentleman, two of our other members where close by having a conversation about a potential land dispute, with one of these fellows being an attorney and the other one owning a parcel of land. It seemed that the landowner was having difficulties with TxDot over what was a very tiny parcel of land. Several years before TxDot was expanding one of their highways and through right of eminent domain had taken this man’s … Continue reading Making A Case For Eavesdropping

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, The Early Days1 Comment

A Trip Up Sheffield Hill

lewisotr

I had been waiting almost 47 years to retrace some tracks that I made in what seems like a different lifetime. My wife and I made a trip out to Big Bend about 3 years ago, so it was a prefect time see what the big deal with Sheffield Hill was. (also called Lancaster Hill) Driving A Cattle Truck Soon after graduating from high school, I was still 17 years old, I got hired on as a relief driver, driving a cattle truck for the Wenmohs Ranch. I was a team driver with Wallace Herbert. I guess you could say … Continue reading A Trip Up Sheffield Hill

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Early DaysLeave a comment

I Would Be Considered Dink’s Stalker In Today’s Terms

lewisotr

Dink McDuff was one of my best friends in my earliest days in the contracting business. I had know him since about 1963 or 64. He and my Dad had worked for the same company, doing underground utility construction. I thought he was the funniest person I’d ever met. Being about 12 years old upon our first encounter, it didn’t take much to impress me. After going into business at 19 years old our paths crossed and it didn’t take long for us to have some sort of a partnership. It wasn’t an enduring sort of deal, so within a … Continue reading I Would Be Considered Dink’s Stalker In Today’s Terms

Amazing Things, On The Job, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Check Washer

lewisotr

Years ago, maybe 1977 or 78 a fellow showed up in our office selling portable check embossing machines. Those are the ones that punched a series of tiny perforations in the amount line of the check, to make it less likely to be forged. As part of his sales pitch he had us write out a check and within 3 minutes he had put a solution on the check and washed all the ink off. He left our signature on it by taping over it before the washing started. Then he made it out to himself with a million dollars … Continue reading The Check Washer

Amazing Things, Grandchildren, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

If you want something badly enough, can you make it happen?

lewisotr

Is it possible for a person to want something enough that they can make it come true ? My case in point; My grandson Will loves basketball more than almost anything. He knows that being tall will make him a better basketball player. He comes from a family of not extremely tall people, on either side. But now as he starts his sophomore year in high school he is 6’-2” tall and it doesn’t appear he’ll stop growing anytime soon. So is there a special force at work? I guess we’ll just have to stand back and watch what happens. … Continue reading If you want something badly enough, can you make it happen?

Amazing Things, Funny Happenings, Grandchildren, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Enjoying Spending Time With My Two Oldest Granddaughters

lewisotr

It was 8 years ago yesterday when Holly and Emma were early teen and preteen. The three of us went down to The Woodlands, Texas for them to attend a music concert. As they look back and reminisce about that trip I think they count it as one of their best adventures. Now we are one a 8 day trip that had us fly into Salt Lake City, then we drove up to Bear Lake and stayed our first night with them and their Grandma sleeping in a Conestoga Wagon (fixed up very nicely to accommodate the three of them) … Continue reading Enjoying Spending Time With My Two Oldest Granddaughters

Amazing Things, Grandchildren, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Enjoying Time With My Two Oldest Granddaughters

lewisotr

It was 8 years ago yesterday when Holly and Emma were early teen and preteen. The three of us went down to The Woodlands, Texas for them to attend a music concert. As they look back and reminisce about that trip I think they count it as one of their best adventures. Now we are one a 8 day trip that had us fly into Salt Lake City, then we drove up to Bear Lake and stayed our first night with them and their Grandma sleeping in a Conestoga Wagon (fixed up very nicely to accommodate the three of them) … Continue reading Enjoying Time With My Two Oldest Granddaughters

Amazing Things, The Early Days2 Comments

Travels Across The Desert

lewisotr

Few people ever went long distances prior to the last 4 or 5 decades. If they did it was making a migration to hopefully find a better life. That was in the summer of 1955. Maw-Maw Nonie and Paw-Paw Theron went with my parents and us to visit folks in California. Kenny and I were both were pre-school age, 3 & 5. All six loaded up in a new Mercury 2 door car that Cec had just bought. It of course didn’t have air conditioning. Being in the hot summertime Cec bought a contraption called a Car Cooler. It was … Continue reading Travels Across The Desert