My Friends, Smithwick, The History of Texas4 Comments

Big Jim, The Best Friend A Feller Could Ask For

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When Jim Cox married Hanna and moved her and her young son, Jimmy Palmer to Smithwick, life would never be the same. He was 9 years old, putting him a 1/2 year older than Kenny and 3 older than me. They moved into Jim’s house that was across the highway from my Grandmother, Nonie. Since we spent most of the summers there with her and every weekend until we moved back from our years at Jollyville, we were together much of the time. Jimmy was as big for his age as I was small for mine. Kenny, having a strong … Continue reading Big Jim, The Best Friend A Feller Could Ask For

Amazing ThingsLeave a comment

A Singer, I’m Not

lewisotr

I have never been a strong singer would be putting it mildly, but if there were plenty of other people singing at church I have belted out a fairly loud noise before. I love the old hymns very much. It doesn’t seem like we sing nearly enough of them anymore. Back at that time on fifth Sunday’s we would use the Cokesbury Hymnal (it’s a Methodist thing) and take turns calling out for requests. Everyone knew every song so it was always a joyous time. Madeline was not there this one particular Sunday and no one was sitting very close … Continue reading A Singer, I’m Not

Crazy TimesLeave a comment

Don’t Always Believe What Your Children Tell You

lewisotr

It was the mid 80’s. We were still living in south Austin on a secluded little street. It was a neighborhood anyone would want to live in, if you have to live in the city. We moved In with on Jan. 1, 1977 and spent a decade there. We had a 2 1/2 year old son when we moved in and by the time we left there our family had grown to a total of 5 sons. We were having a party. We had lots of parties. There were an abundance of friends and family there. The door bell rang. … Continue reading Don’t Always Believe What Your Children Tell You

My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Way To Know When You Have Been To A Memorial Service For a Very Special Person

lewisotr

Today was the day of D. L. “Punk” Turner’s Memorial Service. A large crowd of people gathered to celebrate the life of Punk. Then a nice meal was enjoyed afterwards at the Oatmeal Community Center. The day was spent talking about the positive things about Punk. While there was sadness felt by all, because he will be missed, there was a joy in the air for what he meant to every person in attendance. Whether family or friend, whether life long friend or newly made friend, everyone could say that Punk left a mark on their life. The love, the … Continue reading The Way To Know When You Have Been To A Memorial Service For a Very Special Person

The Jollyville YearsLeave a comment

There Were These Giant Earthworms……..

lewisotr

When I was a small boy growing up in Jollyville and going to school at Pond Springs Elementary, after a heavy night of rain when we would show up to school the next morning all over the playground would be these foot long earthworms crawling everywhere. We would gather them up and chase the girls around the school yard. When the sun was out they would go back underground, not to be seen again until the next heavy rain. I don’t remember ever seeing that phenomenon anywhere else. I researched and found several places around the world that has earthworm … Continue reading There Were These Giant Earthworms……..

Meeting New People, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Is There Really Anything To A Dream?

lewisotr

A while back there was the post on here about not telling about a bad dream until after breakfast. Not knowing whether that applies to all dreams, I got up and had a bowl of Raisin Bran, just to keep it on the safe side. When we lived in Dripping Springs in the 1985-1991 timeframe, I along with my five sons were all baptized one Sunday morning by Rev. Grady Roe. It was in the fall of 1985. I had only given myself over to going to church real sparingly up to that point. I wasn’t sure I had the … Continue reading Is There Really Anything To A Dream?

Amazing Things, Meeting New PeopleLeave a comment

Our Personal Experience With Legadema

lewisotr

In April 2004 we traveled to South Africa on a spiritual pilgrimage. The trip was full of adventure, with us seeing and having a lot of once in a lifetime experiences. There were a dozen or so other people from around the world with us. After a couple of weeks of that trip, our dear friend Mary Ann Gurno, Madeline and I broke away and extended our trip traveling to Victoria Falls and then on to Mombo Camp in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. It was the most fantastic thing I’ve ever done in my life. We lived among every … Continue reading Our Personal Experience With Legadema

The Early DaysLeave a comment

My Quest For The Greatest Ride

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I was a late bloomer in many ways. I always longed to ride anything on 2 wheels. But living out in the country in what was the biggest rock pile imaginable, out on the creek a few miles from Jollyville, left it almost impossible for me to learn to ride a bicycle. One day while visiting friends in Austin I tried out my first ride on a bicycle. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I got the hang of it that day. I somehow came up with an old style, very rugged bicycle to ride back out in … Continue reading My Quest For The Greatest Ride

Meeting New People, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Two Drifters

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Back in the days when we were doing the Guadalupe River State Park in 1981-1982 we had a lot of characters that worked on that project. One day a couple of guys walked up with backpacks on and ask for a job. They were probably about 20 years old. We had a bunk trailer onsite that had about 8 or 10 bunks in it. We let them move in. Summer and winter the guys mostly cooked out on a campfire or on a BBQ pit. They all would sit around the fire and tell stories and drink beer until all … Continue reading The Two Drifters

Amazing Things, Smithwick, The Early Days2 Comments

How Great Is The Internet !

lewisotr

While looking through a box of old papers and memorabilia, my brother sent me a photo of a card and it’s envelope that was addressed to our grandfather in 1938 at an Austin address. We knew he spent a long duration in the hospital back then due to a ruptured appendix. We surmised that perhaps St. David’s Hospital was at 205 Caney St. in its early years. I knew we had a conversation on another FB group a while back about the old St. David’s, complete with photos. So that pretty well eliminated it being on Caney St. in 1938. … Continue reading How Great Is The Internet !