Cruising The UT Drag

The spring of 1971 found me and Jimmy Frasier (Feline to his friends; not because he was a cat) in Austin one Friday afternoon. Probably for no other reason than hoping to find some excitement. I had a new Chevrolet pickup and we decided a drive down to the Drag was in order. We got as far a 34th street on Guadalupe, heading south when we encountered a red light. A couple of pretty young UT types were in the right lane, with us in the left. Paying more attention to the girls than to driving, when the light changed … Continue reading Cruising The UT Drag

Austin Radio People & My Friend Sonny

Bob Cole and Sammy Allred where the duo that probably stayed together the longest, at least to my memory. Of course there was Jim W W Travis at KVET for a long time. Tom Allen was a fixture. There were many that came through there over the years. Jerry Gee. Penny Reeves. Arlie Duff was at KOKE and moved to KVET for a while before he retired or moved on. The list is pretty long. A lessor known and remembered DJ at KVET was Sonny Butler. He was a night man a lot of the time and filled in in … Continue reading Austin Radio People & My Friend Sonny

The Gift

Some of my best memories growing up was hauling hay and doing the hard work. Back in August of 2012 when Madeline and I turned 60, our kids along with Kenny and Carol threw us a grand party out at their place on Cow Creek. Jimmy Palmer brought me one of the best gifts I could have received. It was his hay hook that had hung in their barn for all these years. He wanted me to have it to remind me of the time that when he got out to open a gate and he got back in I … Continue reading The Gift

One Thing That Shouldn’t Be Said During Church

I had a good friend that was a steady church goer. When they got to the prayers and concerns portion of the service this friend stood up ask for prayers for this fellow out in West Texas. The West Texas fellow was the father of this friend of mine’s grandson. A divorce had caused a lot of consternation between each side. Back to the church house that day: He said, if old (what’s his name) doesn’t watch himself, “I’m going to drive out to West Texas and shoot him”. Now taking that this was a very small church 4 or … Continue reading One Thing That Shouldn’t Be Said During Church

The Bet – The Naming Of A First Born

I got to the visitation at the funeral home for my friend LJ Henderson, Joy, LJ’s oldest daughter said “your mother’s name was Bonnie, right” ? To which I said yes. She told me the following story. LJ and Cecil were sitting in a beer joint just a couple of days before Joy Henderson was born in the early part of 1950. Both wives were heavy pregnant at the time. Cecil said, “that baby of yours is gonna be a little girl”. A little arguing went back and forth and a bet was formulated right then and there? If it … Continue reading The Bet – The Naming Of A First Born

Dink Wrote Me A Check

George Lester McDuff was a fiery little fellow. Everyone called him Dink and he always had a story to tell. He had the ability to make me laugh no matter what the occasion. He could make anyone laugh. I first met Dink in 1963, when I was just a kid. He and my dad worked for the same utility construction company. Dink ranch the roadboring division. Roadboring is where a hole is drilled under a roadway or railroad track and then pipe is installed. It was dirty work with mud knee deep and oil and grease everywhere. But everyday Dink … Continue reading Dink Wrote Me A Check

Going To Get Our Motorcycle License

Houy and I were just a little over a month difference in age, with him being born in July and me in August. That made important happenings in our early lives coincide. While I can’t remember whether we went together to get our drivers license. But we did go get our motorcycle endorsement together. He had a new 350 Honda that we took it took on. We were 14 years old. Tommy had been riding for awhile, so it was easy for him to ride along doing as the officer instructed while following behind. I will never understand how I … Continue reading Going To Get Our Motorcycle License

My Senior Trip To California

It was a trip that I will always remember. While it was a trip that took place during my senior year, it wasn’t “The Senior Trip“. Our Senior Trip wasn’t quite so exciting or far away. It was an all day trip to San Antonio. Since I was working across the street from the school at Luther-McDuff Chevrolet, Buick and Oldsmobile, I was offered a chance to help get some vehicles out to California. I was in a program that allowed me to get out of school at noon in my senior year and work at the dealership. It was … Continue reading My Senior Trip To California

Long Distance Calls

I mentioned once a post once that it was long distance to call from Marble Falls to Burnet. Hard to believe how much phone calls could cost, relative to the times. Even the 13 miles between towns. Times sure have changed. In the early to mid 1960s we would listen to the radio station out of Burnet. For the life of me I can’t remember the call numbers. KHLB sounds right. But that may have been the second naming of it. Big Jimmy Palmer got in a habit of calling up to the radio station for contests they were running … Continue reading Long Distance Calls