Category: Crazy Times

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, On The Job, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The VW Bus Was Parked In A Bad Spot

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I wasn’t long out of school, probably had just turned 18. One of my first jobs was driving a haul truck for Nelson Lewis, a cousin in the utility business. He had just landed a project in downtown Austin, laying a wastewater line up West Ave. It started down at 7th St and would continue up to about the 24th block on Rio Grande St. Right up in the middle of the University of Texas Campus. The first piece of equipment I hauled to the job was an old White-Oliver Rubber Tired Backhoe. It was a beast, 4 wheel drive … Continue reading The VW Bus Was Parked In A Bad Spot

Aging, Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings7 Comments

It Set There All Day

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When Kenny had a ranch in Mexico and was going back and forth a lot, so he bought a helicopter. He also used it to look at projects around the state. It was pretty handy. I had a lease agreement with him, so when I’d need to get around to take care of business it was at my disposal. To make sure I was as cool as my brother I built a helipad at my house. The pilot would fly in, grab me and we could leave Bertram and be in Arlington, Tx in an hour and twenty minutes. One … Continue reading It Set There All Day

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

Harold wasn’t known as a man with a stellar reputation

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Sometime in the later 1970s Harold showed up in Austin as an underground utility contractor. There have been a bunch of them that have come and gone in Austin over the past almost 50 years that I’ve been around. But none like Harold, that would cause you to feel like you needed a bath, from just having a conversation with him. Okay that last sentence is a little bit of a lie. There have been several others that gave me that feeling. Harold had a gift of gab and you knew he was a bullshit artist the second he started … Continue reading Harold wasn’t known as a man with a stellar reputation

Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

Sam From Sales

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We were talking a day or so back about Radio Personalities and the chemistry some have together. I found this (and many more) YouTube clips of an afternoon skit that Hal Jay (the in-studio DJ) and Dick Siegel (helicopter pilot flying around doing traffic reports) and one of the news guys that would pose as Sam From Sales. At an appointed time, “Sam” would come in and spend a few minutes telling a story about something going in his life. In the background you could always hear the whirrrr of Dick’s helicopter, and the almost constant distinctive laughs of both … Continue reading Sam From Sales

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Construction BizLeave a comment

Just About The Most Insane Thing I’ve Seen

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And I’ve seen some insane things. Seeing the video’s yesterday of the big wind generator blades coming through Marble Town, after coming up Texas 71 out of Austin, then turning on on FM 2147 and going through Horseshoe Bay and turning north on US 281. The question was raised of why didn’t they just turn at the 281/71 intersection? That would the seem the most logical, in anyone’s estimation. Nice loop around out there get from one highway to the other. But it has to do with permitting. All highway construction is marked on a master map at TxDot so … Continue reading Just About The Most Insane Thing I’ve Seen

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Jollyville Years5 Comments

My Harvey Penick Story

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This really isn’t about Harvey Penick per se, instead involves his daughter. I used his name because it will grab ahold of just about anyone that has ever played the game of golf or has connection to The University of Texas. Mr. Penick owed a ranch down the road from us when Kenny and I were growing up down on the creek out of Jollyville. I think it was his weekend get away, but at the time of this happening his daughter was living there. She had a German Sheppard Dog and a Collie. Us being goat people, we had … Continue reading My Harvey Penick Story

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Kenny LewisLeave a comment

Kenny Lewis was always hard on vehicles

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This was the result of a run-in with the bridge across the South San Gabriel River in RM 1869 just out of Liberty Hill, back in 1979. He hit the side of the bridge and flipped and landed about 30 feet below. Remarkably he wasn’t seriously hurt. He did get to spend the night in Brackenridge Hospital. I think he was pretty sore for a few days. A little addendum to this event: He got our mother and dad to pick him up at the crash site, but started feeling bad on the way to Smithwick, so had them turn … Continue reading Kenny Lewis was always hard on vehicles

Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis2 Comments

Yee-Haaaaw

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In the early days of the Austin Rodeo moving to the new facility at the Travis County Expo Center in the Mid 1980s, Kenny had been very involved and was a “Founder“. A lot of the contractors in town volunteered a lot of time and money to that effort. I was not quite as involved. In fact, I just pretty much rode in on my brother’s coat-tails and enjoyed all the fun of the annual stock show and rodeo. He was very generous with tickets and the like. One night he and I decided to take my 3 older boys … Continue reading Yee-Haaaaw

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

A Sudden Stop

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Back in the 70s and early 80s, after Kenny returned from his stint in the Army, he came to work with us. Most of the crazier things that ever happened was during that time period. It was customary that he and I would load up every few days and ride the jobs. We often had eight or ten projects going on, all over the Austin area. One day we met up out on the north end of town and he climbed in with me. I had a new 1980 Buick Riveria. We were driving through a project, The Cliffs Over … Continue reading A Sudden Stop

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days1 Comment

Another Rock Blasting Story

lewisotr

During the first 15 years of my contracting career most trenches in rock were blasted, before good productive and dependable rock trenchers were developed. We had one crew that their primary job was drilling and shooting (term we used for blasting) rock. We were building a new subdivision right behind the Bannockburn Baptist Church (it wasn’t there then) on Brodie at McCarty Ln. in the Southwest part of Austin, Texas. All was going real good on that project. Don the crew foreman and our ace blaster was short handed, so he hired an old hippie that happened by. The old … Continue reading Another Rock Blasting Story