Dink would drift back through Austin occasionally, always calling to meet up for coffee. When we would meet there were tales of mining for gold in Alaska or diamonds in South Africa. He was living a life of adventure. He built a machine that they would sink to the bottom of the sea floor and excavate soil and rocks, operating it remotely. The hard materials he excavated would be pumped to barges, then processed looking for diamonds. He had a good mind for building contraptions. I saw pictures of this machine but I have no idea if it really worked. … Continue reading The Check That Dink Wrote Me

I’ve always liked keeping up with who’s where and what old friends are up to. Once the internet came along I started doing skip tracing. I became able to hone my skills and can find out more than I should about almost anyone. But you just have to be careful how you use it. Once I had a son that was dating a young lady. The first time I met her and she told me where she was from, I said oh, do you happen to know John Smith and his wife Suzy (not their real names). They were her … Continue reading Investigating People

Dink would come through Austin and borrow money for a venture or a vehicle to drive until his boat would come in. I was always needing to contact him. Dink was always headed off to Alaska to mine gold one time and then off to Africa to mine for diamonds the next time. Another time when he made a little remote controlled oil gobbler that would go out into the water and clean up oil spills. Yes this was different than the containment diaper to strap onto barges and ship that I’ve previously written about. It’s not that Dink wasn’t … Continue reading I Would Be Considered Dink’s Stalker In Today’s Terms

(As told by Kenny Lewis) Cec was the type that when he got something new he couldn’t wait to use it. He had bought a new Murray Mower at Walmart. It was late in the day and didn’t get much of a chance to use it by the time he got down to the Fishing Camp. He was up early the next morning and couldn’t wait to get started mowing. Most of us know for numerous reasons that it is a good idea to wait for the dew to dry off the grass before you start mowing. More especially if … Continue reading Cec Loved New Toys

I’m not sure how strongly I feel about Climate Change or Global Warming or whatever the buzz phrase of the month is. I am fairly sure we humans do harm to the planet. We foul the roadsides and waterways with trash so it’s no stretch of my imagination to think we are messing with the ozone layer. I’m doubtful that the California fires are President Trumps fault because he pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. I heard a scientist kind of guy on one of the Sunday News programs this morning say that by the year 2100 this country … Continue reading Save Our Planet

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anything disparaging about the fairer sex in what I’m fixing to write but you tell me there aren’t differences is in the two sexes. A decade or so back we were over in Africa. One day we decide it would be a great idea to go on an elephant back tour through the wilds of Zimbabwe. We got on with me sitting behind my wife and the lady traveling with us got on another one sitting just in front of an Englishman. We weren’t out of sight of the starting point before I … Continue reading Riding On The Back Of An Elephant

For years Kenny and I sounded amazingly alike on the phone. We both have what I guess is a distinct Smithwick accent. I’m don’t know if Kenny ever took advantage of that. My wife admits to getting us confused a few times, but never has told me if any of those conversations ever went really hay-wire. On the other hand, I can’t even tell you how much confusion I caused or the fun I had becoming Kenny on the phone. Our Grannie Ruby was easy. All I’d have to say is “Grannie has Karen been by today?” With that, I’d … Continue reading Impersonating Kenny