It Just Came Out Of The Blue

I was lying in bed. It was almost 10:00 PM on a Saturday night. My phone rang and it was a number I didn’t recognize, but I decided to answer it. “You still having that Cowboy Rodeo going on out at your place ?” I could tell this fellow had drank bit too much, so I soft pedaled the conversation. The call didn’t seem all that threatening, so I figured he had misdialed my number. Then he went on to call out a name I was familiar with. For the sake of this writing I’ll just call him John Smith. … Continue reading It Just Came Out Of The Blue

A Horse In The Highway

I was driving my first car, a 1963 Ford Galaxy. Prior to buying that car I had driven whatever vehicle was setting around. In those days there were several to choose from. It looked like a used car lot in front of our house. The year was 1967. I was almost 15. After closing down the Texaco, my first job outside of working for my dad, I drove up and down the street until it appeared everyone had headed home, so I started out for the 9 mile trip to Smithwick. The time was early to be going home, I … Continue reading A Horse In The Highway

Never Give Up Hope

Some of you know that I’ve been dealing with severe shoulder pain, under my left shoulder blade. This has been happening since July 2021. It came out of nowhere. I have had ruptured disks in my neck requiring three surgeries thus far, the first being 38 years ago this month. So when this happened I was certain it was another disk that was going to require attention, as it was a similar feeling that I’ve experienced other times. I am probably guilty of leading my spine surgeon to look at that area. Nerve related issues can be very hard to … Continue reading Never Give Up Hope

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

My Corvette Story

I wanted a Corvette almost more than anything in the world. I didn’t get one until about 1985. I drove up to a used truck dealership in Buda, Texas that I’d been doing business with. There set a very nice 1981 Corvette. It belonged to the owners daughter. It really looked classy. I had to have it. I had just sold a prime piece of property and felt rich. Nothing was going to stop me from owning that Vette. Especially if I closed the deal before Madeline found out. That car was brown, a slightly lighter brown than this. I … Continue reading My Corvette Story

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

A Bad Cold Spell In The Winter Of 1973

It was about this time of year in 1973. Madeline & I had been married just a little more than a year. Austin was unusually cold and wet. The city was pretty much paralyzed for several days. Everything looked like a whole different place. I was like we were living in the movie Dr. Zhivago. We were living in a mobile home at Oakhill. We had pretty much everything we needed so we stayed inside for about 3 days. Finally we had stood it as long as we could and got out and made our way slipping and sliding down … Continue reading A Bad Cold Spell In The Winter Of 1973

Growing Pains

I’m not talking about the typical growing pains we sometime experience as people but this is about cities and communities. This can cause a big pain for the landowners which in general are just average people. I have seen all the small towns around Austin grapple with suburban sprawl. Almost every one of them have tried to imitate Austin with their ordinances. In fact I can’t think of any that haven’t. While it is incumbent on the city leaders to move to protect what’s within their purview, it always comes too fast and furious for the residents to become acclimated. … Continue reading Growing Pains

Fred’s “57” Chevy

It was just before mid-night on New Year’s Eve. We weren’t just ushering in a new year but a new decade. Dean, Tommy and I were at The Circle Inn. Not usually a place where teens hung out. Alice didn’t allow it. There was a regular clientele that went there, but this night was different. It was a very festive occasion. The place was packed. I was shooting pool with someone, who’s name doesn’t come to mind. We had ridden out there with Dean and he wanted to go down the road the 281 Club where his folks where ringing … Continue reading Fred’s “57” Chevy