Category: Old Dog – New Trick

Crazy Times, Old Dog - New Trick, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Learning How To Dance

lewisotr

I never did really learn how to dance when I was younger. It just always seemed like something odd to be doing. I was kind of shy about getting up in front of a bunch of people and jigging around. Besides forever so long the girls were all taller than me, and I figured that would really cause me to stand out. Anyway along about the mid 1980s my wife said we needed to go take dancing lessons. I went along with it, anything to make the little woman happy. She signed us up for private lessons one morning a … Continue reading Learning How To Dance

Amazing Things, Old Dog - New Trick, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Story Of How A Little Ol’ Utility Contractor From Bertram, Texas Came To Own Two Giant Excavators

lewisotr

When we first acquired these machines in the later part of 2007, they were bought for a particular project, that was in some fairly hard limestone. We had approximately 4 to 5 miles of very deep wastewater (most of it 38′-40′ depth) to lay. We didn’t have our own deep trenchers that it would take to dig the depths we were going to need. We would generally subcontract that portion of the work out. We had equipped our two 385 Cats out with Leading Edge buckets (the very strange buckets at the bottom of the page) and had been having … Continue reading The Story Of How A Little Ol’ Utility Contractor From Bertram, Texas Came To Own Two Giant Excavators

Aging, Another Daily Happening, Old Dog - New Trick2 Comments

Technology Is So Great…….

lewisotr

…….that is if you understand how to use it. My case in point. I’m making a long drive today, alone. My wife listens to audio books very often when she drives. She swears it really makes time and the trip pass by faster. She suggested I download some books to listen to while I drive. I figured her suggestion had a dual purpose. Besides making my trip go faster, it would keep me from listening to the news so much. I don’t know where she ever got the idea that I’m a news junkie, but we shall not even delve … Continue reading Technology Is So Great…….

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Old Dog - New Trick, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

My Corvette Story

lewisotr

I wanted a Corvette almost more than anything in the world. I didn’t get one until about 1985. I drove up to a used truck dealership in Buda, Texas that I’d been doing business with. There set a very nice 1981 Corvette. It belonged to the owners daughter. It really looked classy. I had to have it. I had just sold a prime piece of property and felt rich. Nothing was going to stop me from owning that Vette. Especially if I closed the deal before Madeline found out. That car was brown, a slightly lighter brown than this. I … Continue reading My Corvette Story

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Old Dog - New TrickLeave a comment

Hanging Upside Down

lewisotr

I have had problems with ruptured discs in my neck for much of my adult life. In fact about the only serious surgeries I’ve ever had, have been on my neck. Three of them, starting in 1985, again on 2005 with I hope the last one in 2010. Now most of the vertebra in my neck region are fused together do using plates and screws and even one is wired together with what looks like bailing wire twisted together. That one freaked me out the first time I saw an X-ray of it. The doctor assured me it was good … Continue reading Hanging Upside Down

Amazing Things, Old Dog - New Trick, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

I Love Technology

lewisotr

I got ahold of the computer thing pretty early on, I guess it was 1985. We had bought the kids a Commodore I think a year or 2 before that. It was a box you hooked up to the TV for playing games and learning aids. We set it up on Madeline’s sewing machine cabinet using a spare TV we had for the monitor. It didn’t take long for one of the boys to turn a box of straight pins over on the keyboard and fried the whole thing. But in 1985 I started working with a Compaq Portable Computer … Continue reading I Love Technology

Crazy Times, Old Dog - New Trick, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

How Could I Always Be So Lucky ?

lewisotr

I had to make a trip up to my North Texas Ranch yesterday. It appears the people that own the places all around me seem to be ganging up and deciding everything is always my fault. The wild hogs are terrorizing everyone and everything. On top of that coyotes are very prevalent and seem to have everyone in the area scared out of their wits. I’m not sure why it’s my fault, but I guess since I’m the largest landowner anywhere nearby, they think I’m the one that needs to take care of the problem. I ignored them for awhile … Continue reading How Could I Always Be So Lucky ?

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Old Dog - New Trick, The Construction Biz2 Comments

Eating Foods You Hate

lewisotr

When I was about 13 years old, on a hot summer day Cec took me to a John Deere Front End Loader on the top of Taylor Mountain, as we always called it. From up there you could see Marble Falls, because you were up there looking down across the town. It was far into the distance. I was clearing off brush on several lots and then leveling them up for future house site. It was early in the morning when he dropped me and I didn’t think about taking a jug of water. When noon rolled around I had … Continue reading Eating Foods You Hate

Amazing Things, Old Dog - New TrickLeave a comment

How My Woodworking Hobby Began

lewisotr

I spent more than 55 years of my life without a hobby, for several reasons. First of all, having an attention span of a gnat, coupled with very little patience for detail and most of all I didn’t have time for such things. I started doing various woodworking projects almost by accident. Here’s how it happened. We have a very unique table that we got from Madeline’s mom, Maxine, many years ago. It was a coffee table brought back from Venezuela by Maxine and Ted in the 1960s. It’s not just a regular coffee table, it is huge. It’s made … Continue reading How My Woodworking Hobby Began

Crazy Times, Old Dog - New Trick4 Comments

The Double Tailed Quarters, The Whole Story

lewisotr

There was a time in the 80s when times were really good in the construction business. I was flying high, as was Kenny and our friend Coy. We all had our own businesses but we worked together at times, hiring each other’s companies to help out on projects. Kenny & Coy had a lot more in common with each other than with me. During that phase of their lives they each were without the benefit of a wife at the time or at least they acted like it. They worked hard and partied hard as the old saying goes. Now … Continue reading The Double Tailed Quarters, The Whole Story