Category: Crazy Times

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

A Meal At Furr’s Cafeteria

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One of my sons (he was about 11 or 12 at the time) and I visited Furr’s Cafeteria on South I-35 at St. Elmo Road in South Austin. This would have been in about 1989. We got our trays and found a table up close to the front door. Within the next few minutes an elderly fellow came in, with someone helping him to carry his tray. He saw me and told the young gal that he’d sit with us. I was delighted to have him. I had known him casually in my younger days and we had even done … Continue reading A Meal At Furr’s Cafeteria

Aging, Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Austin Really Was An Uncomplicated Place, Once Upon A Time

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My wife and I moved to Austin in the fall of 1972, after marrying a year earlier. We rented a mobile home just out of Oak Hill, about a mile west of the Y. Life was very simple. She shopped for groceries at HEB, the store at South Congress and Oltorf. That was the nearest larger supermarket to us and the one she enjoyed going to. When I think back to the next 13 years we lived in 3 different locations, all in far South Austin, a real building boom happened. Safeway built at William Cannon at Manchaca Rd., a … Continue reading Austin Really Was An Uncomplicated Place, Once Upon A Time

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Construction Biz2 Comments

The Fire

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Ruby Waggoner was my dad’s mother. She and my grandfather had divorced when Cecil was very young. He was raised by his dad, Theron and Leona (or Nonie) his stepmother and a host of aunts, uncles and his grandparents. Ruby Lee or Granny Ruby as I called her was still a big part of our life growing up. She lived in Austin and we visited often. She was one funny old gal that laughed a lot and made the rest of us laugh. Any time after I was grown and had projects around north Austin, I’d stop by her house … Continue reading The Fire

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Kenny Lewis, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

It Wasn’t Me

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Kenny always had a lot of company pride. He liked for all of his machines to be looking nice and clean. Everything needed to be ship-shape in Kenny Lewis’ world. He enjoyed having his company name on jackets and caps. He spent a lot of advertising bucks and it paid off for him. You would see people wearing them often, putting the CCI name out in the public. Kenny and I had an arraignment for about a decade that lasted until 2003. We pooled resources and CCI was the name that was in the forefront of the business. I still … Continue reading It Wasn’t Me

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Friend Udo

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I have had the great fortune to meet many people in my lifetime. None probably made a greater impact on me than Udo Haufler. Udo was my neighbor, my friend and my mentor. The first day of 1977, Madeline and I moved into a house on a very quite, secluded south Austin street. Albert Road was like being in another place altogether. It wasn’t like living in Austin. Directly across the street was a large 2 story house, with a horse stable in the back. Esther and Udo Haufler were the elderly couple that lived there. (of course now that … Continue reading My Friend Udo

Crazy Times, Kenny LewisLeave a comment

Kenny Lewis; Driving In Mexico

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Back a few years ago Kenny had a ranch in Mexico. It was just a little ways out of Ciudad Acuna, the Mexico counterpart to Del Rio, Texas. There was a large group of guys there one weekend to hunt. A couple of high powered attorney’s, a banker and a few other business men. A very diverse group at that, in age and demeanor. Kenny had a full staff that worked the kitchen and lodge, but he decided that a trip into town on Saturday night would liven things up, as if it needed to be livened up. So he … Continue reading Kenny Lewis; Driving In Mexico

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings, TravelsLeave a comment

Hauling Guns Into Mexico

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In the fall of 1984 I had a very big real estate deal happen that made me think I’d never see another poor day. So what did I do? Went and bought a new Lincoln Sedan. It was the Cartier addition. Very slick ride. It wasn’t for Madeline. No way she could get all the kids and their friends in it. She drove a suburban. I had a pickup or a suburban or both. I’m absolutely positive there was a reason I bought the Lincoln. I don’t think I’ll be running in to ask Madeline about this. If I remember … Continue reading Hauling Guns Into Mexico

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

Dink Wrote Me A Check

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George Lester McDuff was a fiery little fellow. Everyone called him Dink and he always had a story to tell. He had the ability to make me laugh no matter what the occasion. He could make anyone laugh. I first met Dink in 1963, when I was just a kid. He and my dad worked for the same utility construction company. Dink ran the roadboring division. Roadboring is where a hole is drilled under a roadway or railroad track and then pipe is installed. It was dirty work with mud knee deep and oil and grease everywhere. But everyday Dink … Continue reading Dink Wrote Me A Check