Category: My Friends

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, My Friends, Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Drilling A Water Well

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Cec talked LJ Henderson into bringing a track drill, normally used to drill holes for blasting rock, down to Smithwick to drill a water well. That wasn’t the conventional way to drill a water well, but Cecil Lewis and LJ Henderson weren’t your conventional guys either. After going down close to 100′, they hit water. When drilling with a track drill, the operator would stand right next to the hole being drilled,so all of the dust and rock cuttings being blown from the hole come out and cover the driller. Very few jobs could be dirtier. When the drill bit … Continue reading Drilling A Water Well

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, My Friends, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

The 58 Ford Pickup Takes A Roll Or Two

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It’s funny the ideas that young boys can have! Living about 9 miles out of Marble Falls meant a drive home every night on a very crooked stretch of paved country road. It’s common knowledge that deer feed at night by the moon. So on a moonlit night there were more deer along the roadway. We were convinced that on nights when the moon was really bright that driving home without headlights provided an overall better chance of not hitting a deer. With headlights off you could see the silhouette of the deer along beside and in the road. The … Continue reading The 58 Ford Pickup Takes A Roll Or Two

Amazing Things, My Friends, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Just Imagine My Surprise

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I haven’t been posting much lately. Call it being tired and worn out. Or I could blame it on a bout of COVID 19 back in March and then a pinched nerve and in my neck and left shoulder. All the above hasn’t made be feel all that much liking getting out and doing things and writing about them. Before I go on, let me tell you I’m also not all that pleased with FaceBook and how they have treated many of us. Therefore doing business with a business that is 180° from where I am on about 99.99% of … Continue reading Just Imagine My Surprise

My Friends, On The JobLeave a comment

My Friend Dave

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I first got to know Dave in 1972. He was a successful underground utility contractor and very well respected in the business. His office was located in Lubbock. My first subcontract was working for him installing water lines in Burnet, Texas. It was actually more complicated than that. I was a sub to another sub that subcontracted to Dave’s company. That happens in our business a lot. Ok if you aren’t too confused I’ll continue. Throughout the 1970s I worked with Dave several times. He had an enormous capacity for numbers. I learned a lot from him. There came a … Continue reading My Friend Dave

Another Daily Happening, Cecil Lewis, My Friends, Smithwick, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

@@@My Own Take On Funerals

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I don’t want this to sound morbid, but I have attended so many funerals that I’ve almost developed a classifying system for them. There are the personal ones, that you have to attend. Those are family and very close friends. They are mostly sad affairs. Seldom are we ready to lose those people. While they are sad, there can be moments of joy mixed in. There are the ones that are children and there is never a way to put a happy face on that. Those are always sad, heart wrenching affairs. They haven’t got to experience nearly enough of … Continue reading @@@My Own Take On Funerals

Amazing Things, My Friends, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Difficulties Growing Up A Black Kid In Today’s World

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As hard as it is growing up in this world for teens now, it has to be so much harder for black youth, especially in any of the large urban areas. I often think back to a half dozen black kids I befriended in the Oak Cliff in the late 1980s while doing a job there. I’ve written before about them; Freddy, Herman, Terry and the others names escape me just now. I would load them up in my suburban, after checking with their mother, grandmother or other guardian, (always a female – never remember even one of them having … Continue reading The Difficulties Growing Up A Black Kid In Today’s World

Amazing Things, My Friends, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Friend And Mentor Dave

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I first got to know Dave in 1972. He was a successful underground utility contractor and very well respected in the business. His office was located in Lubbock. Dave was my mentor, someone I could learn from. I figured if I watch him and handle my business like he did, I surely be successful. My first subcontract was working for him installing water lines in Burnet, Texas. It was actually more complicated than that. I was a sub to another sub that subcontracted to Dave’s company. That happens in our business a lot. Ok if you aren’t too confused I’ll … Continue reading My Friend And Mentor Dave

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Old Friend Fred

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Fred was an old bachelor and had served his country in World War 2. He had traveled the state helping to build bridges in his younger days. When I got to know him he was in his late 70’s, maybe even early 80’s. I met Fred through Woody, my old accountant. Woody’s wife Lucy had a sister that lived in College Station Texas. Her name was Josie. Josie and Fred dated. Fred had retired and lived out on his sizable farm out east of Bryan near the little town of Kurten. He mostly just tended to his cows and would … Continue reading My Old Friend Fred

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Things That Young Men Do

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A while back I was reminded of a happening by my long time friend Clay Simmons. He, Kenny and I were making a mad dash from somewhere to Marble Falls by way of Hwy 281 north, with Kenny behind the wheel. What the hurry was escapes me, but we were always in a hurry. When we approached the railroad tracks north of town the pickup sputtered as it started to run out of gas. Having a fleet of dump trucks we commonly had a barrel of gasoline tied off on the back with a pump in it, to rescue a … Continue reading The Things That Young Men Do