Category: Amazing Things

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, 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

Aging, Amazing Things, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, Thoughts and Musings17 Comments

Let Me Tell You About John And About Friendship

lewisotr

John and I had many parallels in our lives. We both arrived in Marble Falls the same year, in the 8th grade. We both graduated five years later, in May of 1970, as did each of our future wives. All four of us were merely 19 years old when we married; both couples have been married every since. John went to college and I went straight on to work after high school. Very soon we each were in business. Therefore, neither of us really worked for anyone after just a short time, spending our whole lives in business for ourselves. … Continue reading Let Me Tell You About John And About Friendship

Amazing Things, Thoughts and Musings7 Comments

The Fox and the Ravens

lewisotr

A few days ago I was enjoying a nice spring afternoon sitting on the front porch swing. Sudden I heard the sounds of what appeared to be a couple of Ravens. They were close by. When I got up to go see what all the commotion was about, I saw them sitting in a live oak tree just outside of the yard. Not the actual bird, but one like it. The sounds of the common raven Just then I saw Oliver the Cat sticking his head through the net wire pasture fence that runs along the east side of the … Continue reading The Fox and the Ravens