Category: The Construction Biz

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Kenny Lewis, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Sometimes A Mistake Can End Up Being A Good Thing

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I was talking to a fellow, Ray, tonight at Kenny’s visitation at the funeral home. We, being Kenny & I, first met Ray well over 30 years ago. Kenny and Ray became very good friends, just about since they first met. I pretty much traveled in different circles afterwards that didn’t afford me the opportunity to be as closely connected, but I would see Ray occasionally. Ray worked for a very successful apartment builder and developer. Our meeting was on the first project that his company built in Austin. It was a time when I wasn’t very busy and I … Continue reading Sometimes A Mistake Can End Up Being A Good Thing

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cell Phones On The Cheap

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After the prosperous years of the 80s came the real estate bust of the late 80s and early 90s. Kenny, Coy and I (of double tailed quarter fame) were teamed up again doing work together. The days of mobile phones had given way to pagers and pay phones. Mobile phones were very expensive in the early days. My average phone bill in the 80s was $1,000 – $1,200 per month. That wasn’t for the whole company, that was just me. I stayed on the phone constantly, conducting business and doing a fair share of BSing. Those costs just weren’t in … Continue reading Cell Phones On The Cheap

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

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Back in 1978, I think it was, my company contracted to excavate for the new Capitol National Bank. It was the largest job that of that type that Lewis Contractors had ever taken on. Considering it was excavating 30′ deep a full block square downtown Austin from 7th to 8th St. between Guadalupe and Lavaca and it was solid limestone rock it had its challenges. The only real way to accomplish a project like that was to blast. If I remember correctly, we did it in around 60 days. Considering the equipment we had to work with in those days, … Continue reading EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

Amazing Things, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Mechanical Calf

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This story was originally told by me back on Oct. 4, 2016. When You’re Me, I Never Know What I’m Going To Be Thinking About When I Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night. This morning I woke up around 3:30, which happens way too often. The first thing that popped on my mind was a fellow I met in about 1971. I knew Leroy fairly well for a few years. He worked for another utility contractor, one that we had a working relationship with. Leroy ran their shop and was very mechanically inclined. As I got to know … Continue reading The Mechanical Calf

Aging, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

In My Next Life

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I’m not sure what the afterlife or the next life looks completely like. But what I know for sure is if given a chance to re-live my life over, I want to do it in an occupation where rain is never a bad thing. For over 50 years, while rains could come over a weekend and it wouldn’t stop work, but even then there would be pumping out holes and cleanup come Monday. But the real anxiety would be when the whole week would call for rain in the forecast, turning into a disaster when it actually happened. The weather … Continue reading In My Next Life

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cec And The Big Billy Goat

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When we were building the Guadalupe River State Park my dad, Cecil took his small travel trailer down at the very end of the park at the rivers hairpin bend, to stay away from everyone else. The park land extends across the river at that narrow point and has some primitive camping and hiking over there. Between the time we bid that project and it actually getting under way, there was the huge flood that snapped off gigantic cypress trees and altered the landscape forever. Cec would sit and watch a herd of Spanish Goats that climbed the rock bluffs … Continue reading Cec And The Big Billy Goat

Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

A Look Back To A Defining Moment In My Culinary Life

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What Is Your Favorite Salad Dressing? This was a topic on a different Facebook group that I saw earlier today and it got me thinking. Everyone has an opinion on Salad Dressing. I’m fairly alright with any of them, but I do have my favorite – Blue Cheese. I can’t tell you why. It’s seems like an acquired taste kind of thing. Years ago I was all in on a tangy French (maybe it was truly a Russian Dressing) It was Pizza Huts signature dressing, then one day they did away with it. I never will understand that. On a … Continue reading A Look Back To A Defining Moment In My Culinary Life

Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Going Through Years And Years Of IRS Audits.

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Saying that the IRS can be persistent is an understatement. Back in the 80s my company was under an audit for almost that entire decade. Starting with 82, then it became 83 and wrapped up in 89, I think. Of course sometimes we didn’t hear anything for months. In the end we had incurred tens of thousands of dollars of costs to my CPA firm. When it was all concluded with a small amount over payment being made by us, my CPA said we’ll go after them for the amount they cost you since it went on for so many … Continue reading Going Through Years And Years Of IRS Audits.

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Incident With The IRS Agent

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This happened back in the early 1980s, way back in the days before cell phones but, we at least had Motorola 2-Way Radios. Our biggest project going at the time was building Jester Estates, out west of Austin on RM 2222. In fact it was the largest project we’d ever taken on. So knowing that if we didn’t put everything into that project, we could end up out of business. So I stayed out on that project a lot of the time. I had tried to grow the company too fast so we were stretched way too thin with manpower, … Continue reading The Incident With The IRS Agent

Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Young Detectives

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Our dad was working for an old time contractor by the name of Holland Page, installing a new wastewater system all around the town. This was in the summer of 1963. The project was in Gatesville, Texas. That summer we went there part of the time to spend with him. He had an apartment rented. They had a guy that had worked for them that was trying to make an insurance claim for a back injury that supposedly happened on the job. Cec knew that wasn’t possible because the guy had been too lazy to pickup anything. After talking to … Continue reading The Young Detectives