Category: Thoughts and Musings

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

Borrowing Money

lewisotr

Gaston Kenna was his given names, but he always went by the initials G.K. I first got to know G.K. in 1973 when Dink (from another of my stories – okay a few of my stories) and I were teamed up doing projects together. GK was hired by my cousin Nelson, whom I already had a long working history with. G.K. had worked for a wealthy businessman in Rockdale for many years. A drinking problem had been the cause of him needing to seek employment with Nelson. A few years later G.K. became my traveling accountant / sidekick / office … Continue reading Borrowing Money

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

More About G.K.

lewisotr

I wrote about my drunken accountant a while back. “GK, My Accountant With A Drinking Problem”. GK may have been an old drunk, but I had a real fondness for him. Following is a story about the evening goings on for the crew when we were up building a 24” water line in Stephens County. Our office for the Stephens County project was in a small town of Ivan. Actually Ivan wasn’t a town. It was a beer joint and then our little office building. We were on a party line with the Kate’s Place.Ms. Kate was like our answering … Continue reading More About G.K.

Construction, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

GK, My Accountant With A Drinking Problem

lewisotr

Gk was my accountant for several years. I’ve mentioned him in a couple of my previous stories. I mostly called him Worley, his last name. GK was so fast on a desk calculator, you’d think the keys were going to fly off. By the time I got to know him, he was pretty much an old drunk. He would shake a lot. But when he would sit down and had a pen in his hand that man had the nicest handwriting of any person I’ve ever known. He had gone to a business school when he was young. He could … Continue reading GK, My Accountant With A Drinking Problem

Amazing Things, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

It’s an all new experience for us.

lewisotr

Last week Madeline and I purchased our first motorhome in a very long time. So we left on our maiden voyage a couple of days ago. This coach is small enough that she feels comfortable driving it, but roomy enough that we can move around within with ease. We were intending to leave out Sunday morning but Saturday afternoon we looked at each other and said let’s do this, so we headed south. Our reservation in Port A wasn’t until Monday, so we knew we’d stop along the way. Madeline introduced me to something new. Boondocking. I got a Boondocking … Continue reading It’s an all new experience for us.

The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Little Maverick

lewisotr

My wife’s car when we were seniors in high school was a reddish copper colored Maverick. Her mother bought it for her from Tiger Penny. Madeline said he brought it up to Johnson City football game. It was a surprise for her. That little car served her well. After we married I took it down David Fishers Car Lot, along the creek between 8th and 9th Streets and US 281 and traded it for a Ford Pickup. If memory serves me correctly, that car was just under $2000 brand new off the lot. History Of The Ford Maverick (from Wikipedia) … Continue reading The Little Maverick

Crazy Times, My Family, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

The Battle Of The Smithwick Lewis Family

lewisotr

This story dates back to the late 1950s. I will be telling it from my perspective, which is the side I was born on. FP and Florence Lewis had a bunch of kids. There were two girls and seven boys (couple more died young) and they raised them in Smithwick. Best I know they had several pieces of property but our old home place was originally Stinnett land that they bought from Grandmother Florence’s family or inherited it. It was comprised of 450 acres that stretched from FM 1431 down to the Colorado River. It was approximately 1/2 mile of … Continue reading The Battle Of The Smithwick Lewis Family

Crazy Times, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

There’s Always More To The Story…..

lewisotr

This was an early Angora Chronicles story. The Doubled Tailed Quarters story is always a favorite of mine. When Kenny got one of the original books from me yesterday he took it and really dissected it last night and this morning. He called a little while ago, to ask why I didn’t finish the story about the Doubled Tailed Quarters. I knew that was coming so I had my ready answer. That rest of the story was the hook to get him on here and involved. Anytime that story gets told, he always adds the karma part, the last laugh … Continue reading There’s Always More To The Story…..

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

The Mean Streets Of Houston

lewisotr

As a boy going up in the small central Texas town of Marble Falls, I dreamed of getting out of high school and finding a vocation without ever needing to go on to college or any other formal education. I grew up in a family where operating equipment and driving trucks came at an early age. I thought a career as a truck driver and maybe even owning a fleet of trucks one day was in my future. I was a high school senior, but not yet eighteen. At that time, you could get your drivers license at 14 and … Continue reading The Mean Streets Of Houston

Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Incident That Almost Left My Brother To A Life Of Infamy

lewisotr

It was a late afternoon in the late 1970s. Kenny had put in a full day in Austin with the construction business and was headed to Marble Falls to finish off his day with his ranching activities. He headed out of Oakhill on Texas 71 and as he approached Paleface Park he looked up to see a white Mercedes Sedan pull directly out in front of him. With a quick reflexes he stomped the brakes and locked up all four tires. In a cloud of blue smoke he skidded right up within a few feet of the drivers door of … Continue reading The Incident That Almost Left My Brother To A Life Of Infamy

Aging, Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, No Place Like Bertram, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Love For Donkeys

lewisotr

This was originally written in the early days of The Angora Chronicles, with the times freshened up for this time period. In about 1959 I got Tar Baby. He was a fine specimen. Kenny always had good horses, but I preferred riding Tar Baby. He was given to me by my Grandmother Leona’s brother, Uncle Ed Purcell. I rode him in many rodeo parades and just for a leisurely ride. I usually wasn’t in a hurry and neither was Tar Baby. When it came time to help gather cattle or goats, I’d have to mount up on a horse. Otherwise … Continue reading My Love For Donkeys