The spring of 1971 found Jimmy Frasier and me in Austin one Friday afternoon. Probably for no other reason than hoping to find some excitement. I had a brand new Chevrolet pickup. We decided a drive down to the Drag was in order. When we got as far a 34th street on Guadalupe, heading south when we stopped for a red light. A couple of pretty young UT gals were in the right lane, with us in the left. Paying more attention to the girls than to driving, when the light changed as they eased off. So did we. The … Continue reading Cruising The UT Drag

After the prosperous years of the 80’s came the real estate bust of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Kenny, Coy (of double tailed quarter fame) and I were teamed up again doing work together. The days of mobile phones had given way to pagers and pay phones. Mobile phones were very costly in the early days. My average phone bill in the 80’s was $1,000 – $1,200 per month. And that wasn’t for the whole company, that was just me. I stayed on the phone constantly, conducting business and doing a fair share of BSing. Those costs just weren’t … Continue reading Mobile Phones On The Cheap

It’s always fun listening to kids, starting back when I was one, dreaming about where their life would take them. “What I want to be when I grow up”, kind of stuff. Then I heard it from the next generation, my kids and their friends. Now I get to hear the dreams of my own grandchildren. I’m going to be a pro-ball player. I’m going to be an astronaut. Life is made of dreams. I was no different. Well maybe a little different. As I got on up in my teen years I just thought more about doing whatever it … Continue reading The Shetland Jockey’s At Paleface Park

After a lifetime of thinking I knew how to spell his name I recently found out it is Blisard. With it being the time of year when the temperatures are cooling down, let me tell you about a Blizzard we once experienced. His name was Vernon (Blizzard) Blisard. He worked with my grandmother Ruby at the State School. That was in the early 1960s, over in west Austin. I don’t know what Vernon did at work but away from work he traded in Shetland ponies. He didn’t just deal in them, he was a Major Shetland Pony Trafficker. If you, … Continue reading Vernon Blizzard

There are things that happen in our lives that leave us wondering about human nature. This story left me feeling less trustful. I had become very good friends with an old gentleman that was my neighbor. Upon his retiring after a long and successful career as an excavation contractor in Austin, I bought his office and yard and several pieces of his equipment. I didn’t buy his business per se, and I’ve alway questioned why I didn’t. He had almost cornered the market on doing the big excavation projects around Austin. Oh well, I guess things work out. One of … Continue reading The Double Cross