Category: Crazy Times

Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Rattlesnake Bite Victim

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Cec allowed an old fellow from Marble Falls to establish a wrecking yard on a little patch of ground on our property. Old Man Hugh Hampton was as nice of a fellow as I ever met, and a very hard worker. He was honest as the day was long. (Whatever that saying is suppose to mean) Hugh had a fellow working for him up in the junk yard pulling usable parts off of cars. It was in the summertime, because Kenny and I were both at the house. I’m betting we had stopped by to grab a bite to eat. … Continue reading The Rattlesnake Bite Victim

Crazy Times, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Wreck At The South End Of The Marble Falls Bridge

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It was just coming light and as I came down the hill I spun and couple of turns in that ole “63” short wheelbased Chevrolet pickup 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 up there, I was going to fast. 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. George Becker was standing in the … Continue reading The Wreck At The South End Of The Marble Falls Bridge

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Wooden Pallets

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After graduation several of us gathered at the Scott Place down at Doublehorn. Winfield had been out of high school for a year and was home after finishing his first year at LSU. His folks were away, so it was an ideal place for a party. Knowing I had stuff to do the next day I had the presence of mind to leave the party before daylight and head to Smithwick. I was scheduled to go to San Antonio and pick up a load. I was over on the Eastside of San Antonio by mid morning sitting at a huge … Continue reading The Wooden Pallets

Crazy Times1 Comment

Never A Broken Bone

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Hey folks, can we make this about me for just one minute. I’ve told about everything that has ever happened in my life. Almost. Every near miss and every clear hit. Miraculously I’ve never had a broken bone. In my story about going for the Army draft physical I told about crushing my foot. There we no bone fractures. The bones had what Dr. Allen called radial cracks, I think. There were bones that had longitudinal cracks but nothing fractured, if that makes sense. He bandaged my foot but no cast. That was when I was 18. Then when I … Continue reading Never A Broken Bone

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