Category: Crazy Times

Crazy Times, Meeting New People, The Construction Biz

We Weren’t Made To Feel Very Welcome In Victoria, Texas

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Back in the late 70’s things were going pretty well for us in the construction business, but had slowed a bit. As things often happen, a miracle job fell out of the sky. A Burnet County fellow had gone off to Houston and was doing well contracting with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. I knew of this guy but mostly just by name. He was a generation ahead of me, about my Dads age. He had been offered an opportunity to bid a project for SWB in Victoria. He didn’t have the manpower nor the proper sized equipment for such an … Continue reading We Weren’t Made To Feel Very Welcome In Victoria, Texas

Crazy Times, The Construction BizLeave a comment

While Building The South Austin Hospital – Early 1980s

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We had contracted to install the water, wastewater and storm drainage for the new hospital that was being built just west of South 1st on Ben White. We were getting down to the end of the project. Everything had worked out about as well as we could have hoped for. It was time to hook into the city’s 66″ water main that crossed Ben White and continued south on James Casey Drive. We were required to tap into this large main at night, since it was the major source of water for all of South Austin. We worked through the … Continue reading While Building The South Austin Hospital – Early 1980s

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Kenny LewisLeave a comment

Lackey vs. Lewis (As told by Kenny Lewis)

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Our parents made us aware of danger by telling us the consequences of what would happen if we got to close to something that might hurt us. One was that if you got too close to a Snapping Turtle, it would bite you and not turn loose until lightning struck. That was the case with Cec, when he got in a fight. Ronnie found that out when he embattled Cec and literally pulled his top front two teeth out trying to get his thumb out of his mouth. Dad operated a fishing camp on the family land he had inherited … Continue reading Lackey vs. Lewis (As told by Kenny Lewis)

Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

The Story That Shouldn’t Be Told

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There was a guy once that left Houston to go with his wife and a son to Augusta, Ga. to visit yet another son that was training there with the US Army. This absolute idiot of a guy decided to go on the Atkins Diet while traveling. Not the brightest move I’d say. If a person eats only meat, cheese and eggs for several days, his regularly is not exactly in check if you know what I mean. The Atkins Diet Plan instructs you to take Psyllium Fiber to help with the above condition. The time to take a bunch … Continue reading The Story That Shouldn’t Be Told

Crazy Times, The Early DaysLeave a comment

I Was Just About As Hungry As I Had Ever Been

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I was a 17 year old kid, a growing boy I was. Butch Sayers got me to go with him to Marysville, California to deliver a truck load of Corriente Steers (Mexican Roping Steers). We left Marble Falls in the middle of the afternoon and arrived in Del Rio at the stockyards after dark. The trip had been sprung on me suddenly and I didn’t have a chance to eat before we left. I mentioned to Butch a couple of times that we may want to make a stop and get a bite to eat. All he was thinking about … Continue reading I Was Just About As Hungry As I Had Ever Been

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Cecil Lewis Was Always Resourceful And He Taught Us

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In the early days of our roadbuilding careers, there was a need to haul heavy pieces of equipment, mostly a D-7 Caterpillar Bulldozer, from Smithwick to Jonestown. We didn’t always have trucks that had the horsepower and the gears to get us over all the hills. We knew from experience which ones were going to give us fits, so I’d go along in a pickup and before we’d get to one of those such hills we’d pull over and hook a chain to the front of the truck and I could give just enough of a tug with the pickup … Continue reading Cecil Lewis Was Always Resourceful And He Taught Us

Crazy Times, Meeting New People, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Connecting People (it’s like connecting the dots)

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It’s strange how people all around the country are connected and we never realize it. I was reading about the Wolf Family from Georgetown (they owned the land where the Wolf Ranch Shopping Center is located). We did a lot of work around that development and got to know some of that family. Actually I had known Harry Robertson that married into the Wolf family since childhood. His sister had married one of my first cousins, back when I was just a kid, so we would see them every so often. Later Harry operated a Gulf Station at I-35 and … Continue reading Connecting People (it’s like connecting the dots)

Crazy Times, My Friends, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Another Strange Happening

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When we were kids going to school in Jollyville, there were the Reeves boy’s that were the same age as Kenny and me. Donnie was Kenny’s age, while Danny and I were in the same grade. We often visited each other’s house and played together. Then the Reeves’s cousin Elvin Horner came to live with them. He was Kenny and Donnie’s age. The Reeves family moved and we lost touch with them. That was about 1963. By the mid 80’s I was awarded a contract to construct a development project in Round Rock. When we got started building it, I … Continue reading Another Strange Happening

Crazy Times, My Friends

Another Strange Coincidence. How many are there?

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I Was Just Reading Along Online About Various Crimes That Have Been Written. Something I often do. I’m not sure why True Crime interests me, but I’m intrigued by those stoeies. As I was reading a couple of names appeared that I recognized. They are a couple I met a few years ago. Carl and Tricia Adams Pool (Tricia is a member of this group) from Jonestown. They even own a ranch and wedding venue right here just out of Bertram. They are mentioned in the later part of this article. This incident happened a long time before we met. … Continue reading Another Strange Coincidence. How many are there?

Crazy Times, Meeting New People2 Comments

The Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner Salesman

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The son of a friend of ours had failed at several different jobs and vacuum cleaner selling was going to be his ticket to the future. The sales pitch to us was he just needs to come to give his presentation (his mommie asking for him) so he can get his act down. We didn’t know this young man actually, perhaps we had met a time or two, causally. The mother was the girlfriend of a family member. He arrived and vacuumed every room in the house demonstrating how much better his was that the one we had. All the … Continue reading The Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner Salesman