The Bluebonnet

My name is She-Who-Is-Alone. I am a Comanche Indian who lived in Texas a long time ago. When I lived in Texas, only Indians lived here. They call me She-Who-Is-Alone because my parents and the rest of my family died. They died during the drought, when it did not rain for a long time. Texas is very hot in the summer. Without rain, the crops do not grow. Without food, many people get sick and die. The horses and buffalo need water also. When the drought came, we prayed to the Great Spirits for help. The people played the drums … Continue reading The Bluebonnet

The Only Track Meet I Ever Competed In

Going to school in Jollyville didn’t provide for someone of the things that going to a more traditional school did. We didn’t have any sort of a sports program. We played kickball and dodgeball out on the playground. That was about it for sports. The principal, Mr. Pyle had come to us after being a coach and principal at Thrall. A year or so after he arrived at Jollyville, in my 6th grade year, he arraigned for those boys in grades 6 – 8 to go compete in the Thrall Track Meet. Eight or ten boys loaded up in cars, … Continue reading The Only Track Meet I Ever Competed In

The Hood Blew Open

A month before Madeline and I married in 1971, I had a 1968 Ford Galaxy 500 that I rear ended a Williamson Country Road Maintenance Pickup in Liberty Hill, completely demolishing the front end. It took a couple of months to get it the repairs done. I finally got it out of the body shop on a Friday afternoon, just before leaving on Saturday morning for the Jordan Christmas Party in Houston. The Jordan Family Christmas Party was the highlight every year for Madeline’s whole family, when they got to see all their cousins, aunts and uncles on her dads … Continue reading The Hood Blew Open

It Almost Sent Me Into A Panic

This story actually started back in 2012 when my wife and I moved down to Corpus Christi to spend our twilight years on the coast. Of which after a couple of years, we knew there was no place like Burnet County to call home, so we came back to the Hill Country. Once we got our house and started outfitting it, we were buying most everything new, as we were maintaining a residence up here and left our old stuff behind. One Sunday afternoon we went to the CC Convention Center to the annual home and garden show. We were … Continue reading It Almost Sent Me Into A Panic

Sometimes If You Keep On The Trail, It Lead You To Where You Are Going

I had a good friend that passed on a while back. When he was still alive, he would sometimes ask me what I thought ever happened to a gal, that was his first love. I got busy and found out where she lived, even found him an address, which wasn’t too far off his beaten path. He never got the courage to make contact. I think he knew it’s wasn’t the thing to do. His life had made many turns and given that it appeared she had married a couple of times and had children and grandchildren, not making contact … Continue reading Sometimes If You Keep On The Trail, It Lead You To Where You Are Going

Car Sickness

It doesn’t seem like kids get car sick as much now as they used to. For nine years, from age 4 until I was 13 we maintained a Friday afternoon family ritual. When school would get out on Friday afternoon we would leave Jollyville and head to Smithwick. The road for some of the way was still unpaved, just a gravel road from Lago Vista to Smithwick. That stretch of road became RM 1431 and was paved, starting in 1958. The road from Whitestone to Smithwick was even more crooked back then than it is now. A way more crooked. … Continue reading Car Sickness

When A Situation Presents Itself, I Always Say Take Advantage

Earlier this week I arraigned a lunch date with two high school friends, Sam Hall and Ronald Mayfield, from high school. They were good friends back in Marble Falls, but hadn’t seen each other since, which was about 50 years. We established that 11:30 AM at County Line on the Lake would be the place and time. I was passing near one of our projects where my middle son, Ron Jr was at. I thought it would be nice if he could join us, to get a flavor of what old time friendships are like. He jumped in an we … Continue reading When A Situation Presents Itself, I Always Say Take Advantage

I Grew Up Wearing Cowboy Boots

When I was much younger I wore cowboy boots everyday. I seldom wore anything else. Even back in high school. When my first taste of prosperity came along I bought not just boots, I bought boots made from the most exotic leather I could find. Cost was no object. Ostrich, Kangaroo, Elk Hide, snake of several varieties. But Elephant Ear was what I preferred. They were the most rugged and didn’t need to be polished. They were meant to have a dull finish. Ostrich was very durable as well. I even had a pair made from the leg of ostriches. … Continue reading I Grew Up Wearing Cowboy Boots

Aged Bourbon

I have told many people before that I lost all taste for bourbon after drinking a fifth and a pint of Old Crow in about 30 minutes one time, and eventually woke up in jail the next day. But that was when I was 16 years old. I just never could stand the smell, much less the taste of it after that. That was well over 50 years ago. I have several bottles that have been in the top of a cabinet, leftover from when the popular thing to do was hand out whiskey as gifts at Christmas time, in … Continue reading Aged Bourbon

Don’t Ever Talk Down To Your Crew When You Are In The Underground Utility Business

There was a contractor that was laying a deep wastewater line around on the East Side of San Antonio. It was deep in the ground. The owner of the company would come to the job every few days and express his displeasure with the progress. No matter how many joints of pipe the crew installed, the boss man would complain. Finally the crew decided that every time he came out and tore them a new one, they would leave a few gaskets out of the next pipes they laid. When they finally got to the end of the line and … Continue reading Don’t Ever Talk Down To Your Crew When You Are In The Underground Utility Business