Category: Crazy Times

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Kenny Lewis, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Sometimes A Mistake Can End Up Being A Good Thing

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I was talking to a fellow, Ray, tonight at Kenny’s visitation at the funeral home. We, being Kenny & I, first met Ray well over 30 years ago. Kenny and Ray became very good friends, just about since they first met. I pretty much traveled in different circles afterwards that didn’t afford me the opportunity to be as closely connected, but I would see Ray occasionally. Ray worked for a very successful apartment builder and developer. Our meeting was on the first project that his company built in Austin. It was a time when I wasn’t very busy and I … Continue reading Sometimes A Mistake Can End Up Being A Good Thing

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Kenny Lewis, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

About As Close As Kenny Ever Got To Getting On Facebook

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Not long after The Angora Chronicles got started, the following is a post that Kody made on behalf of his daddy. Actually Kenny did warn up to it all enough that he would occasionally send me a story to post. To tell you the truth, I’m pretty sure he wanted to get on FB, but was just that hard headed that he didn’t, after talking all the smack he did. I decided later on that it was much better that he stayed away from it all. When FB and company decided to start monitoring us all and taking down stuff … Continue reading About As Close As Kenny Ever Got To Getting On Facebook

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cell Phones On The Cheap

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After the prosperous years of the 80s came the real estate bust of the late 80s and early 90s. Kenny, Coy and I (of double tailed quarter fame) were teamed up again doing work together. The days of mobile phones had given way to pagers and pay phones. Mobile phones were very expensive in the early days. My average phone bill in the 80s was $1,000 – $1,200 per month. That wasn’t for the whole company, that was just me. I stayed on the phone constantly, conducting business and doing a fair share of BSing. Those costs just weren’t in … Continue reading Cell Phones On The Cheap

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

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Back in 1978, I think it was, my company contracted to excavate for the new Capitol National Bank. It was the largest job that of that type that Lewis Contractors had ever taken on. Considering it was excavating 30′ deep a full block square downtown Austin from 7th to 8th St. between Guadalupe and Lavaca and it was solid limestone rock it had its challenges. The only real way to accomplish a project like that was to blast. If I remember correctly, we did it in around 60 days. Considering the equipment we had to work with in those days, … Continue reading EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Past Angora Chronicles StoriesLeave a comment

Chuck Norris definitely wears Kenny Lewis pajamas

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Back when Kenny had his place in Mexico, his son Kody brought a friend from Tennessee, Tom Brostowin, to hunt several times. On one trip Tom brought another fellow with him that was a New York Stockbroker type. Kenny dropped the two of them off at a big double stand for the morning hunt and then continued on. Kenny came back by little later to find them both sitting on the ground at the bottom on the stand. When ask why they weren’t up in the stand they told him there was a huge wasp nest in there. Following are … Continue reading Chuck Norris definitely wears Kenny Lewis pajamas

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Fast Food (really fast food)

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Anyone remember when they built the new hamburger place on William Cannon at Manchaca Rd. Best I can remember it was a Carl’s Jr. They started and worked around the clock to have it in operation in 24 hours and they did it. It was an attempt to set a record for the fastest fast food place to be built. It was in August 9, 1979 or September 26, 1982, I can’t remember which. How do I know it was one of those dates? We lived a few blocks from there. I took my wife to St. David’s one morning … Continue reading Fast Food (really fast food)

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, On The Job, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

The Disease

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It was in the hot summer time and I was out of school for the summer. I was about 14 or 15 years old and working for my Dad, Cecil Lewis. We were building a road down by Turkey Bend. Just country roads are all we built back then, hauling and spreading out caliche for new subdivision roads. I always ran the loader, loading the five or six dump trucks that hauled the caliche. The trucks were driven mostly by our school age friends, the ones at least sixteen and could get a commercial license. Socks Jackson was the mechanic … Continue reading The Disease

Crazy Times, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

The Highway Patrolman At Paleface Park

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Besides racing Shetland’s at Paleface and eating lots of BBQ at the old Paleface Store, I have one other story that connects to Paleface. Kenny and I together with our wives were heading to Luling for our great grandmother Purcell’s birthday celebration on a Sunday morning. I was driving Madeline’s 1974 Pontiac Granville. This incident happened in 1975 or 1976, given the car we were in. Most likely I was exceeding the speed limit. Oh of course I was. They had reduced the speed limit to a maximum of 55 MPH, so almost everyone broke the speed limit. How were … Continue reading The Highway Patrolman At Paleface Park

Crazy Times, My Friends, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Winfield and the Wimberley Bank

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I thought that the incident with Winfield and the speeding tickets had taught him a lesson. I found out later how clueless I was about what all was going on in that man’s head. If you set and listened to him you would really take him to be just a big talker, but you knew he wanted to make it big one day. He had been around a couple of years by this time and my business was going through a very tumultuous time. My bills were all behind, creditors were beating our door down and Winfield was spending most … Continue reading Winfield and the Wimberley Bank

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Meeting New People, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Hood Wasn’t Fastened And Blew Open At The Most Inopportune Moment

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A month before Madeline and I married in 1971, I had a 3 year old Ford Galaxy 500 and I rear ended a Williamson Country Road Maintenance Pickup in Liberty Hill, completely demolishing the front end. It took a couple of months to get it out of the shop. I finally got it out of the body shop on a Friday afternoon. On Saturday we were leaving for the Jordan Christmas Party in Houston. The Jordan Christmas Party was a huge deal. I had made every excuse imaginable about why I didn’t need to go. I didn’t know any of … Continue reading The Hood Wasn’t Fastened And Blew Open At The Most Inopportune Moment