Category: Crazy Times

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Meeting New People, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Mrs. Lily Mae Little

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Back in 76 we were needing something to do. (That is what we say in the construction business when our inventory of work has been depleted) An acquaintance of ours, a competitor, had landed a big project up in North Texas, in the Possum Kingdom Area. It was more work than his crews could adequately handle, so we contracted for part of the project. We would be laying a 10 mile long segment of 24” water line. I was only 24 years old at the time. Madeline, our not yet 2 year old son Matthew and I relocated to that … Continue reading Mrs. Lily Mae Little

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction BizLeave a comment

He Shouldn’t Have Been Dragging His Feet To Give Us The Thumbs Up

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Back in the mid 1990s we were doing a lot of work on new apartments. There was one big builder that we had done several projects with. He would only give us the underground pipe work, allowing another contractor to do the excavation and other site work. He was always about to pull his hair out each time using Brand X, but really enjoyed the fishing trips they would take him on. The vacant property at the old Texas State Hospital at 38th between Lamar and Guadalupe was made available for development so this developer had a deal to put … Continue reading He Shouldn’t Have Been Dragging His Feet To Give Us The Thumbs Up

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cecil and TSO (Texas State Optical)

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I thought I had told this story of a very amusing day in my life, but I sure can’t find it anywhere. Since it’s a true story I should be able to tell it again and it come out the same way. That’s the way true stories work. Back in about 1975 I had a project over in the west central part of Austin. It was a Friday afternoon and my mother and dad rolled up. She was driving. It must have been a pre-planned trip for them to come to Austin, since they knew where to find me. They … Continue reading Cecil and TSO (Texas State Optical)

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Car Business

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I often talk about all the different cars I drove when I was a kid. I may have shown up to school in a different vehicle just about any day. To say we were in the used car business would be an over statement. Cecil Lewis was an entrepreneur of his own kind back in the day. He dabbled in about anything that made a little money or kept his sons busy. Buying and fixing up used cars was but one of his ventures. In my early days working for Charlie Ulbricht, I watched him do body work out of … Continue reading The Car Business

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

He Has A Hurting In His Groin Area

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I had an appointment in Austin this morning at my urologist. Just a routine checkup. When I walked in a fellow was checking in just in front of me. He was a very handsome guy. He had something close to a Fabio hairdo. I wasn’t actually trying to hear what he was saying but it was unavoidable. It appears he didn’t have an appointment, instead just stopped in to see if they could work him in. I heard him say he had a hurting in his groin area. About that time the gal handed him a clipboard so he could … Continue reading He Has A Hurting In His Groin Area

Construction, Crazy Times, Meeting New People, On The JobLeave a comment

The Nichols Brothers and how the magic of Facebook helped to write their full story

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Back in the 70s we had a band of brothers that came to work for us. They were hardworking, honest to a fault it seems like and a little bit crazy. When I say “honest to a fault”, I mean that they gave you a better days work than maybe they should have, as in it seemed like they were killing themselves to be sure you knew they were earning their pay. Larry, Richard and Conner were their names. Larry was a little older than me, Richard was about my age and Conner was a bit younger. It was easy … Continue reading The Nichols Brothers and how the magic of Facebook helped to write their full story

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Before I Became Civilized

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Back in high school driving around and drinking beer or even stronger libations was a common practice. Most all the nights run together, one not being different from the other. Occasionally something happened that sets certain nights apart. Getting intoxicated and left up at Roadside without any clothes on, ending up in jail for the night, now that was memorable. A night when a quite a bit older fellow decided I needed to be taken down a notch or two, so we met up in the Lakeland Minimax parking lot and entered into an extended slugfest that could have lasted … Continue reading Before I Became Civilized

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Slamming The Cabinet Doors

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Granddad can get cranky at times. Not just because I’m getting older, heck this incident happened 20 something years ago. I wouldn’t have even broken the 50 year old mark at that time. I haven’t always been cranky. I think it set in for me in my thirties. I have to admit I became an old man before my time. I had an Opthomologist tell me I had “old people eyes” once when I started wearing trifocals in my early twenties. He said eyes like yours are usually reserved for old people. At least they never worsened. I guess there’s … Continue reading Slamming The Cabinet Doors

Crazy Times, Kenny LewisLeave a comment

The Hitchhiker

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Several years ago Kenny stopped by my place in Bertram one evening. He had a lot to say, but I don’t remember him ever saying anything that enlightened me much that night. That happens sometimes when he has made a trip or two too many to the cooler in the back of his pickup. At least back at that point in time. He was living on out the road from me about 5 or 6 miles. As the night wore on and I wore down I suggested that the best idea was for him was to come in and make … Continue reading The Hitchhiker