Category: Thoughts and Musings

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Car Business

lewisotr

I often talk about all the different cars I drove when I was a kid. I may have shown up to school in a different vehicle just about any day. To say we were in the used car business would be an over statement. Cecil Lewis was an entrepreneur of his own kind back in the day. He dabbled in about anything that made a little money or kept his sons busy. Buying and fixing up used cars was but one of his ventures. In my early days working for Charlie Ulbricht, I watched him do body work out of … Continue reading The Car Business

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

He Has A Hurting In His Groin Area

lewisotr

I had an appointment in Austin this morning at my urologist. Just a routine checkup. When I walked in a fellow was checking in just in front of me. He was a very handsome guy. He had something close to a Fabio hairdo. I wasn’t actually trying to hear what he was saying but it was unavoidable. It appears he didn’t have an appointment, instead just stopped in to see if they could work him in. I heard him say he had a hurting in his groin area. About that time the gal handed him a clipboard so he could … Continue reading He Has A Hurting In His Groin Area

Construction, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Then & Now

lewisotr

I graduated from high school in May 1970. By the fall of 70 I went to work in the underground utility industry. I believe I was earning around $3.00 per hour. Considering the minimum wage back then was$1.60, I was doing pretty well. A top operator was paid $3.75 per hour. By late spring of 1972, I had learned enough about the business, plus what I had picked up being around trucks and machinery my whole life, I subcontracted my first water line installation project in Burnet, Texas. I had a crew of 4 or 5 people including myself. I … Continue reading Then & Now

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

Before I Became Civilized

lewisotr

Back in high school driving around and drinking beer or even stronger libations was a common practice. Most all the nights run together, one not being different from the other. Occasionally something happened that sets certain nights apart. Getting intoxicated and left up at Roadside without any clothes on, ending up in jail for the night, now that was memorable. A night when a quite a bit older fellow decided I needed to be taken down a notch or two, so we met up in the Lakeland Minimax parking lot and entered into an extended slugfest that could have lasted … Continue reading Before I Became Civilized

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Slamming The Cabinet Doors

lewisotr

Granddad can get cranky at times. Not just because I’m getting older, heck this incident happened 20 something years ago. I wouldn’t have even broken the 50 year old mark at that time. I haven’t always been cranky. I think it set in for me in my thirties. I have to admit I became an old man before my time. I had an Opthomologist tell me I had “old people eyes” once when I started wearing trifocals in my early twenties. He said eyes like yours are usually reserved for old people. At least they never worsened. I guess there’s … Continue reading Slamming The Cabinet Doors

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

A Typical Friday Night Growing Up in Marble Falls in the 1960s

lewisotr

We would drive through town, go up the roadside park up on the hill, south of town, turn around then drive to the far north end of town. Turn around and repeat that same course dozens of times during a Friday or Saturday night. The whole circle would be no more than a couple of miles. Very few cars would speed, mostly just cruising up and down looking cool. Gasoline cost 35 cents per gallon, so for $5.00 you could drive around all night long. Most of us were drinking beer and having a good ol time. There were drugs … Continue reading A Typical Friday Night Growing Up in Marble Falls in the 1960s

Amazing Things, Meeting New People, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

Because It Felt Right

lewisotr

Back in the 1980s, probably the summer of 1987 or 88 , I was an adult sponsor on a high school church mission trip to Appalachia. A chance encounter happened one evening. After our hard days work, we would walk to a convenience store a couple of blocks from the community center where we stayed each night. We would go there and get ice cream, but mostly we went there to use a pay phone to call home. I had a cell phone but it was difficult back then to get service many places. We were in a little town … Continue reading Because It Felt Right

Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, On The Job, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Death By Seatbelt

lewisotr

Once when we were doing a project in Dallas, my Suburban was having mechanical problems so I took it to the shop. They gave me a rental car. This was in the early 90s. Kenny was up helping me on that project so we would go eat before we would go to our apartment each evening. This night we determined where to go eat on our way home, but then I changed my mind. He was following me when we stop at a red light. I just opened the drivers door and stuck my head out to tell him to … Continue reading Death By Seatbelt

Kenny Lewis, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Wife To The Rescue

lewisotr

I KNEW ONE DAY WE COULD GET OLD KENNY WOUND UP. It took a little while after we got The Angora Chronicle up and running, but finally he cut loose and told us some of his famous wife stories. Wife To The Rescue – Part 1 For those that are not aware, I have been married three times. Even though I’m sure, had I ever gotten into a situation where I needed help in my defense, Karen would have been there, it just never came up. Shirley was my second wife. Many years ago we were at a Jackpot steer … Continue reading Wife To The Rescue

Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Asking You To Not Bring Your Dog In My House…. Doesn’t Mean I Hate Dogs.

lewisotr

My wife and I both agreed very early on in our relationship that we didn’t want dogs (or cats) in the house. While I don’t condemn anyone else for having animals in the house, it’s just not for us. However we feel very much in the minority these days. While we raised 5 sons without animals running freely throughout our home, all 5 have gone the opposite way with their own households. I respect their right to do that. I was raised up in a house that didn’t have inside dogs and cats. Shortly after I left home, a new … Continue reading Asking You To Not Bring Your Dog In My House…. Doesn’t Mean I Hate Dogs.