Category: Amazing Things

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Evolution of a StateNoah Smithwick

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I have always heard it said that this is one of the best, if not the best first hand account of the settling of Texas ever put into book form. I grew up with a 1st edition, 1900 copy of this book in our home. It had belonged to my grandfather, A.T. Lewis. I knew it was a book that had to remain in our family. I grew up in Smithwick Texas, with the old Smithwick Mill on the Colorado River being on part of our family property. That being the old homestead of Francis Porter Lewis and Florence Stinnett … Continue reading Evolution of a StateNoah Smithwick

Aging, Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, My Family, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

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No apologies for that, as I can almost guarantee you what he would have said if someone offered their opinion on the matter. He smoked his whole life from about age 9. He drank heavily except for about a decade and half, which was from when I was born until I became a teenager. But before that time he was hell on wheels and after that time he became legendary around Smithwick and beyond. Cecil Lewis lived his life throwing caution to the wind. He didn’t spend a lot of his time contemplating his next move. He just got a … Continue reading My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

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It wouldn’t be hard to take away from my previous stories that Cec wasn’t a perfect man in every way. He was hard on us boys. Not just his sons, but all those that worked for him or even just hung out with us. He wanted stuff done and done then. He didn’t take to a lot of foot dragging. For any of his faults he could fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. But as strange at it may seem, if anything broke or got wrecked, he always kept his cool. It was as if at … Continue reading Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

I Always Wanted To Do The Right Things, But Circumstances Can Get In The Way

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Back in the early part of the 70s we had a project relocating a water line on South 1st Street where a big “S” in Williamson Creek. (as shown in the photo below). Three new bridges were be built. We were on the tail end of that job, cleaning up and pressure testing. The City of Austin had a crew that performed the pressure tests and they came out twice and each time the line failed. The General Contractor that was building the bridges had already started work and it was imperative that we get that line approved or it … Continue reading I Always Wanted To Do The Right Things, But Circumstances Can Get In The Way

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

It Took Me Weeks To Figure Out Why She Was Upset.

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Not long after we married in 1971, I came home with Madeline a brand new 1972 Dodge Demon automobile. It was an absolute beauty. White with a White Pearlescent Vinyl Top and Snowy White Interior. Very sporty but not in a hot rod sort of way. More in a very hot, young chick sort of way. That baby had all the beauty and innocents that my new wife had. My Dad had gone with me to Austin to buy it. I needed him to drive my pickup back. What better thing could a new husband do than go buy the … Continue reading It Took Me Weeks To Figure Out Why She Was Upset.

Aging, Amazing Things, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Story Of The Beagles

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I have a long love affair with Beagles. A lot of people will find umbrage with me claiming to love dogs, but never having an inside dog. That just speaks to different peoples tastes in pets and how much they want to be one with them. I’m fine with a dog having a nice comfy bed in the garage and waiting for me to come outside and go for a walk. But if someone wants to share their human bed with a dog, that’s you own business. What a man or woman does in their bedroom is up to them. … Continue reading The Story Of The Beagles

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Call Me Clueless

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Let tell you something that I even find hard to believe and I was at the center of it. A few years back my wife and a couple of my sons were talking about The Eagles. I simply had no idea who or what they were talking about. It was like “you’ve got to be kidding, you don’t know who The Eagles are ?”. I could honestly say that I had never heard of The Eagles. After them explaining to me that they were one of the most popular bands of the 70s and again in the 90s I went … Continue reading Call Me Clueless

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

I Was Always The Tag Along Little Brother

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Kenny and his friends always had something going on, which would have them loaded up going some place or the other. This incident I’m fixin to tell you about was most likely after football practice. A full carload were jammed in, with me being in the back seat, on the passengers side next to the door. I was probably a Freshman in high school with most of them being a couple of years older. I always ended up being picked on constantly, which could have been caused by my own habit of picking on all of them. We had been … Continue reading I Was Always The Tag Along Little Brother

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The “55” Chevrolet 3/4 Ton Pickup With Sideboards

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Cecil picked up this slightly used Texas Highway Department Pickup at a sale somewhere. That was along about 1961, so the old truck had a lot of good left it it. It was Highway Department Yellow, with the state emblem sanded off of each front door, making it not very attractive. To class it up a bit he had a fellow paint it for him. Cec never did have much of an eye for colors so he went and picked out a color I’d never seen a vehicle painted before or since. I guess it would be something between a … Continue reading The “55” Chevrolet 3/4 Ton Pickup With Sideboards