Cec And The Spare Tire Rack

Back in “68” Cec bought a new 1/2 Ford Pickup down at Truck City Ford on Ben White Blvd in Austin. There was a brand new thing that he couldn’t do without. Back in those days pickups never or hardly ever came with a rear bumper from the factory. They were all installed by the dealer and most of the time in this area they were supplied by D&D Bumper in Seguin, Tx. The dealership name would be imprinted in it, so when you bought a bumper you paid for the privilege of advertising where you bought your truck everywhere … Continue reading Cec And The Spare Tire Rack

I Knew When I Did It, I Was Making A Mistake:

I was relaxing in the hot tub killing time, by running through Facebook, when I ran across a link for life insurance. I thought, what if I bought a policy that upon my departing this life, my wife could have a windfall of funds that would allow her to make a few more trips or do something pleasurable to make my passing a bit more worthwhile for her. It wasn’t anything I was for sure going to do, but it would be easier to assess whether or not to do it, based on the costs involved. It was about a … Continue reading I Knew When I Did It, I Was Making A Mistake:

Cecil Lewis Let A Blast Get Away From Him

Back in 1967 there was an old service station in Burnet at US 281 and League St. The owner decided to replace the old gas tanks with new larger ones. After they had removed the old tanks it was discovered that some rock would need to be blasted so the hole would become large enough for the new tanks. Cec (the name that Kenny and I called him by – short for Cecil) was contacted about coming up to Burnet to drill & shoot the the rock. (Shoot the rock means to dynamite it) He headed out to do that … Continue reading Cecil Lewis Let A Blast Get Away From Him

Kenny And The White Bronco

I have to admit that in my younger years I spoiled myself with buying vehicles. I was doing a lot of driving, bidding on work all around the state. When I say a lot of driving, somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 miles per year. I had a new Buick Rivera that I considered my road car. And it did handle the road very well. We had a project in Kendall County, just north of San Antonio building the Guadalupe River State Park, which was a undeveloped tract of ranch land when we started, so I couldn’t see driving that nice … Continue reading Kenny And The White Bronco

A Collection Of Carwash Mishaps

These are actual Carwash happenings, with the first one involving my oldest grandson and me. The other two stories, let me just say happened under everyday circumstances for the two involved. My Carwash Story I had just bought a new 1995 model Oldsmobile 98. A big fancy Olds. It was almost the size of a Abrams Army Tank. A recently remodeled Texaco station at Texas 29 and I-35 in Georgetown had just been reopened for business. Tyler, my first grandson was about 3 year old. He went with me as often as I could take him. We stopped to fill … Continue reading A Collection Of Carwash Mishaps

My First Swimming Lesson

Back in the “old days”, 1956 probably, we were all down at the river. We called it the river, even though it was a lake. That being Lake Travis at Smithwick. I would have been no more than 4 years old. At this time Uncle Owen Lewis had acquired several Lone Star Aluminum Fishing Boats that he rented out. That was a common thing to do in that day. There was a huge pecan tree that grew close to the river bank on Shop Branch in the big U curve just before the creek met the lake. That tree had … Continue reading My First Swimming Lesson

Evolution of a State by Noah Smithwick

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 State by Noah Smithwick

On Writing

I have a hard time sitting down and reading like I used to. There was a time that I could read for hours. Now I fall asleep much too easily. I can sit or lay in bed and write for hours and never even think about going to sleep. I guess it’s the active / passive thing. May just be how my brain is wired or cross-wired in my case. Reading is much too passive for me. This may be why I watch very little sports. I just don’t understand sitting watching someone else doing something. I want to just … Continue reading On Writing

The Smithwick Battle Royale

I’ve told many stories about how small I was as a kid and how it made me ripe for being picked on. No one was harder on me than my brother Kenny. But I’ll have to say that he was always the first to come to my defense, a brotherly thing. As I began to grow, it was only a natural progression that one day I would have to say enough is enough to being Kenny’s whipping boy. One day there would have to be a real head-buttin. It was just before Kenny left for the Army and I had … Continue reading The Smithwick Battle Royale

Saying Goodbye To Butch Crownover

When I think back to our time growing up in the 1960s in Marble Falls, the friendship between Butch and Kenny always comes to mind. They spent a lot of time together, therefore I spent a lot of time with them. The first story is one time I’m glad I wasn’t along. A Trip To Look At A College In spring of their senior year of high school, Butch and Kenny got in Kenny’s 63 Pontiac Tempsest with a 4 cylinder and a 3 speed factory floor shifter and headed out to check out Sul Ross. Oh by the way, … Continue reading Saying Goodbye To Butch Crownover