The Break-In

I called her Grannie or Ruby Lee. Either was fine with her. She lived in north central Austin on a short street, just off of Burnet Road, up in the 5500 block. As an adult running around Austin in the construction business if I was anywhere close to her neighborhood I would drop in. That is if I had time to kill. There were no short visits with her. She always had a lot to say. The only thing that would stop most of the talking was when the Price is Right came on. I’ll never know how anyone could … Continue reading The Break-In

The Pecan X-Ray

My Grannie Ruby was always a target for my practical jokes. Sometime in the late 70s I stopped by her house for a visit. She was just coming inside from picking up pecans. She had several pecan trees in her yard. Every year she would be out there slaving away picking up these pecans. The trees she had kept her supplied with pecans to use throughout the years. She told me how disappointed she was that she wouldn’t have many pecans. She had cracked several already and a large percentage were bad. Bugs or disease had taken a toll on … Continue reading The Pecan X-Ray

What Works In Texas May Not Work In Other Places

A few years ago several members of the Lewis family traveled to San Diego, California to attend the Marine Recruit Training Graduation of one of our sons. We were staying in a hotel not far from the Marine Base. Some of us walked down to a restaurant a block or so from the hotel to get something to eat. I remember the service not being all that good, especially when it came to paying the bill. Finally I stuck a $100 bill under the check (it was enough to cover the bill and tip) and we left. Most of us … Continue reading What Works In Texas May Not Work In Other Places

Learning Life’s Lessons

I was probably in the 3rd grade and Kenny was in the 5th. Mr. Henniger was the principal at Pond Springs School at the little three room school we attended in Jollyville. After we ate our lunch each day, Mr. Henniger had a chest type freezer in his office where he kept ice cream bars. If you had a nickel you could buy a ice cream sandwich or a fudgsicle to eat out on the playground. He would go in and we would all line up and watch as he unlocked the freezer with a key on the big key … Continue reading Learning Life’s Lessons

I Have Decided After Almost 6 Years That It’s Time For A Change

I have found that it’s time for a change with The Angora Chronicles. I don’t see it going away, but I think it would be better if we change the way it is brought to you. So rather than it being in written word form, I am tooling up for it to become a series of audio clips, photos and memes. Of course it will still have titles and brief descriptions of what you will see in the clip, that will be written out. It will be necessary for each of our comments to also be an audio clip. It … Continue reading I Have Decided After Almost 6 Years That It’s Time For A Change

The Legend of Stallion Estates

This is one of those stories that may take longer to tell than many of you have patience for. I’ll try to be as brief as possible, yet still giving you the essence of what happened. About 10 years ago, I needed to see my spine surgeon in San Antonio. Tommy Houy rode along. He remembered that he had recently spoken to a fellow down that way that had an old Plymouth for sale. Anyone that knows Tommy understands about his affinity for anything MOPAR. He found the guys number and called him as we left San Antonio. They arraigned … Continue reading The Legend of Stallion Estates

Just One More Accident

I had a new gold and beige colored crew cab Chevrolet. It was a beautiful truck. It had everything imaginable on it. This was in the mid 1980s. It still had paper tags on it. I pulled up in front and center at Holt Caterpillar in Austin one morning. Just as I reached the front door I heard a crash. I looked around to see a one ton welders truck had backed into the drivers door. As I got closer I saw that he had a pair of fork lift forks on the bed of his truck. They extended over … Continue reading Just One More Accident

You People Don’t Be Ruffling My Feathers

I often drive down the road and see someone working on their road and I know they aren’t an accomplished road builder. They are there trying to improve things a little and hoping to make a difference. Sometimes I wonder if they’ll actually be able to get up and down it by the time they are done. I don’t stop and explain what they are doing wrong and how if they will do this or that it will be much better. If I did stop I’d probably hurt their feelings. That guy is doing the best that he can. He … Continue reading You People Don’t Be Ruffling My Feathers

Another Day In My Life

I find myself (you notice how everything is about me) in a quandary. If this sheltering in place lasts very much longer I am going to end up one swallowing of my tooth crowns. I’ve got two loose ones at the moment that need the real good dental glue. Every few days one or the other of them comes out. I clean them up, removing all the old adhesive using some of my tiny drill bits and CNC tools. After brushing my teeth and rinsing well I dry the stud with a cotton swab. Then it’s time to fill the … Continue reading Another Day In My Life