The Wreck At The South End Of The Marble Falls Bridge

Early one Sunday morning with it raining and the road slick, I had taken Kenny out to the Pure Stone Quarry to pick up a dump truck. I would have been 14 or 15 years old. For whatever reason they thought a 14 year old had any business back in those days. It was just becoming light and as I came down the hill and that old “63” short wheelbased, step-side Chevrolet pickup spun out and smacked the guardrail right on the end of the bridge. I was more than likely going too fast for the conditions. Let me back … Continue reading The Wreck At The South End Of The Marble Falls Bridge

Cecil 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 or blast it) Off he went … Continue reading Cecil Let A Blast Get Away From Him

The Unfortunate Happening On The Side Of Ben White Blvd.

John Harlan did a lot of our road-bores back in my early days in the business. A road-bore is where we drill underneath a roadway or other obstacle to install a pipe for some type of utility. John wasn’t the easiest feller to get along with, but if he and his sons showed up on the job, one thing for sure is they would get the bore done. Besides it was a real sideshow watching them hollering, cussin, and storming around at each other. Back around 40 years ago I had a project in Austin and was waiting for John … Continue reading The Unfortunate Happening On The Side Of Ben White Blvd.

The Bet

I need some of my friends on here to help me. I’m having a little trouble collecting a bet out of my brother. He has just locked completely down and won’t even discuss paying me. I’m thinking there may have to be some public shaming needed to get him to turn loose of that money. Here’s what happened. I was telling him about the story I told on here a couple weeks ago about this hunting trip we took up to Utah back in about 1984 or 85. When I got to the part about how he, Coy Foust and … Continue reading The Bet

Once Upon A Time In Vegas

We were in Vegas with a fairly large group. One in our party drank too much walked into hallway just like he came into the world, thinking he was walking into the bathroom. The door shut behind him. Then people started getting off the elevator. He made a run for the stairwell to hide. Then he realized he didn’t remember what room he was in, once the hallway crowd cleared. So no way he could bang on doors to wake his wife up. He finally found a house phone, and called the front desk. I guess since it was Vegas, … Continue reading Once Upon A Time In Vegas

Pecan Pralines, the sugary kind not the gooey ones.

I used to go to church with an elderly lady, that shall remain nameless. She “played” a big role in the church and was a very long term member. She became widowed along the way a few years after we moved to Bertram. With losing her husband, the level of cantankerousness got worse and worse. For whatever reason when she would get mad and quit the church, I would be able to go spend a little time with her and get her to come back. I’m not sure how that job fell to me, other than there wasn’t anyone else … Continue reading Pecan Pralines, the sugary kind not the gooey ones.

The Christmas Crayon Set

As a young boy I loved to color. My mother knew to always get me a couple of coloring books and a fresh box of crayons. I had a bad habit of pressing down way too hard, using up the crayons much faster that I should have. Being rambunctious, I broke most of them in half. I’m sure I ate a few of them along the way. It was Christmas Eve night, most likely when I was 6 years old. When I unwrapped my presents I had a huge set of colors and it came in clear plastic carousal that … Continue reading The Christmas Crayon Set

The Hood Blew Open

A month before Madeline and I married in 1971, I had a 1968 Ford Galaxy 500 that 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 the repairs done. I finally got it out of the body shop on a Friday afternoon, just before leaving on Saturday morning for the Jordan Christmas Party in Houston. The Jordan Family Christmas Party was the highlight every year for Madeline’s whole family, when they got to see all their cousins, aunts and uncles on her dads … Continue reading The Hood Blew Open

Not Being Easily Embarrassed

My wife swears she has only seen me embarrassed one time. It was 20 something years ago, when I was out in the sun a lot and my skin was very dark. As suntanned as I was, my face lit up like Santa’s suit. It so happened that one day in our office I barged in on an office worker nursing her new born son, even after Madeline told me not to go in that room. I thought she meant that I would wake up a sleeping baby, “so don’t go in there”. Well that wasn’t the only reason for … Continue reading Not Being Easily Embarrassed

My Crooked Nose

I earned my crooked nose. It took me a long time to learn what to do to keep from getting punched in the nose. It was mostly all about keeping my mouth shut at the right time. Back in the mid 70s we were doing a project on the east side of Houston. At I-10 and Federal Rd. to be exact. The job keep me later than usual so well after dark I found myself standing at a pay phone outside of Jim’s Coffee Shop on Federal Rd. Probably letting Madeline know to not wait dinner on me. At the … Continue reading My Crooked Nose