Category: Thoughts and Musings

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

This Story Got Me Following Sean Dietrich.

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Sean is a great writer. He writes the kind of stuff that needs to be written about. The supermarket checkout line. She was white-haired and frail. Her buggy was filled to capacity so that it looked like she was pushing a coal barge up the Mississippi. The first item she placed onto the conveyor belt was an extra-large case of Coors. “That’s a lot of beer,” said I. She smiled. “On sale.” “Are you the one who drinks it?” She nodded. “Two beers a day keeps the doctor away.” “I don’t think that’s how the saying goes.” “Yeah, well, I … Continue reading This Story Got Me Following Sean Dietrich.

Texas History, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Texas 29 Highway History

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The Road They Couldn’t Make Up Their Mind About. A History Of Texas Highway 29. (If highways had feelings, 29 would feel like a red-headed stepchild) When I’m heading out west, I usually hit 29 and end up at its terminus in Menard, where it becomes something else. When heading to east Texas I often take 29 over toward Taylor to where it ends into Texas 95 at Circleville. (I always wish it went a little farther to the east, to make it easier to connect up to Bryan/College Station via Hearn, and other eastward destinations) I guess I always … Continue reading Texas 29 Highway History

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Trying To Figure Out The History Of US 281 Running Through Burnet County

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I referenced several sources including newspapers, other written sources and maps to ascertain the history of the main highway that now takes us from Wichita Falls to Brownsville. I am only speaking to the stretch as it extends through Burnet County, as it gets much more complicated trying to talk about the entire stretch as it goes from Canada to Mexico. Photo # 1 is a 1919 map. It doesn’t show an actual road extending from Blanco to Lampasas. (Probably just trails at that time) This map doesn’t show a road from Blanco to San Antonio either. Photo # 2 … Continue reading Trying To Figure Out The History Of US 281 Running Through Burnet County

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Inventor (mid 1980s)

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I used to take my kids to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream in South Austin. Either a location on So. Congress and couple of blocks south of Oltorf or the one on Stassney Lane. What I always observed was the amount of effort it took for the employees there to dish out the very hard frozen ice cream. I also experienced the same thing at home. I went on a quest to find or make the very best ice cream scoop. I tried many different things, from a type of vibrating handle to different types and shapes of scoops. I bought … Continue reading The Inventor (mid 1980s)

Amazing Things, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

A Look Back At Some Of The Past “Ramblings” That Were Carried In The Newspapers Around Here

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The Rambling Longhorn and Gloomy Gus are two of the fellows that have been carried in the local newspapers. If you know of others, please let me know and I’ll try to round up some articles from them. I can’t find the other Gloomy Gus screenshots that I made, that I said I’d put on here one day. I guess it wouldn’t be impossible for me to go back and scan them again one day. Continue reading A Look Back At Some Of The Past “Ramblings” That Were Carried In The Newspapers Around Here

Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Boy They Called Possum

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I’m not exactly sure how the name came about, but it probably had something to do with a nose longer than normal and eyes set a little too close together. George Jones, the famous country singer got tagged with the same nickname. If you look at a picture of him, there could be a small similarity to the nocturnal marsupial. I guess you could say the same for the short skinny kid that started to school in Marble Falls at the beginning of his 8th grade year. For whatever reason I never took offense to being called that, almost immediately … Continue reading The Boy They Called Possum

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

Learning How To Dance

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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, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

MARBLE FALLS the little city – with the BIG FUTURE.

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Was There Any Way We Would Have Believed Our Little Ol Marble Falls Would Be What It is Now? The Chamber of Commerce slogan was MARBLE FALLS the little city – with the BIG FUTURE. The little flagstone building was the Chamber of Commerce, Welcome Center. Junior Bowles Gulf Station was where the rancher types congregated in the 60s & 70s. The Town has really grown in 150 years. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth704120/?q=marble Continue reading MARBLE FALLS the little city – with the BIG FUTURE.

Crazy Times, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Left To Sweat It Out

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I was a sophomore in high school and still small for my age. All the big boys liked to pick on me, but I’m sure I provoked a lot of it. I was in the building trades program where we learned about carpentry and actually built a house during the school year. It was a rowdy class. Our teacher was Robert Woodard, but we called him Jake. Our shop/classroom was in the old bus barn. It was just a big tin building with no insulation. The temperatures in that building could be extreme, both directions. We had caused enough trouble … Continue reading Left To Sweat It Out

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Jake The Building Trades Teacher

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Robert Woodard was his name but his first year teaching Building Trades, the year before I was old enough to take it, some of the boys starting calling him Jake and it stuck. “Hey Jake what are we doing next?” or Hey Jake can we take a break?” I always considered Jake pretty easy going, very knowledgeable and an all round good teacher. But if you got him riled up, you better watch out. Some of the older guys and a few of the younger ones were real hoodlums. They would always try Jake on for size. He swung a … Continue reading Jake The Building Trades Teacher