Save Our Planet

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

Riding On The Back Of An Elephant

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

Octavius

Just off the northeast corner of the house, our house here in Bertram is a huge wind chime. It has a pleasant melodious quality about it when there is a light breeze blowing. As the wind picks up, it turns to a haunting sound. So much so, that I have a bungee cord that I wrap around it, as to make it immobile when the wind blowing too strongly. You see it’s just outside my bedroom window. A while back we had a house guest, a special young lady that is really into Medieval Times. She has a vast knowledge … Continue reading Octavius

My Old Friend Horst

Horst was truly one of the nicest old fellows I ever met. He worked as a superintendent, building apartments. He may be the only man in that position I never had a head-butting with. There was something about the way he approached things, that I worked extra hard to be sure I pleased him. We first started working together in the mid 1990s. Our friendship grew over the next few years. Horst loved deer hunting. I started including him in any hunts we were going on, whether business or when I was taking my sons hunting. He had wonderful stories … Continue reading My Old Friend Horst

The Thoughtfulness Of My Brother

One day my brother, Kenny, walked into my wood shop carrying a wooden saddle rack, that he had bought somewhere. He ask if I could carve a name and maybe put something fancy on it. The rack was fairly simple, made from pine, just plain looking. He told me the story of seeing a saddle hanging in the barn of an old cowboy friend of his. He ask about the saddle and got a complete history of it. The old cowboy had owned that saddle most of his adult life I believe. He told him who made the saddle and … Continue reading The Thoughtfulness Of My Brother

Impersonating Kenny

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

Funerals

I don’t want this to sound morbid, but I have attended so many funerals that I’ve almost developed a classifying system for them. There are the personal ones, that you have to attend. Those are family and very close friends. They are mostly sad affairs. Seldom are we ready to lose those people. While they are sad, there can be moments of joy mixed in. There are the ones that are children and there is never a way to put a happy face on that. Those are always sad, heart wrenching affairs. They haven’t got to experience nearly enough of … Continue reading Funerals

The Proudest Grandad Ever – a newspaper article from December 2017.

Words cannot tell how much I love my grandkids. Every single one of them are so different but each is just as special as the other. I cannot wait for us to gather later this month to take our first picture together with all 10 of them. (We finally got the portrait made with all the grandkids and us – even got it hung – Nov 2018) This link is to a article in the Austin American Newspaper http://www.mystatesman.com/sports/high-school/faces-off-the-field-emma-lewis-burnet-junior-shooting-guard/d8FvDkDabKYLVXpjyYJTtI/ What’s your favorite memory of playing basketball for Burnet? Being invited by (Bulldogs) coach (Doug) Messer to join the varsity basketball … Continue reading The Proudest Grandad Ever – a newspaper article from December 2017.

It Was The Day Before I Turned 16 Years Old

The 1960s were most definitely a different time than now when it comes to the horsepower of trucks. Today our trucks operate with 400 to 600 horsepower. Back then the common range was 180 to 250 HP. We still hauled equally heavy loads over the same roads as today. Trucks were used much longer and maintained must less than by today’s standards. It was common when we were hauling a heavy dozer in hillier areas for me to go ahead in a pickup to assist. When we knew there was a grade too steep coming up, Kenny would pull over, … Continue reading It Was The Day Before I Turned 16 Years Old

Circling 4-Wheelers

Back in the winter of 1984, Kenny had a deer lease on several thousand acres of south Texas land between Laredo and Freer. He was so gracious to ask me down a few times. (or anytime I wanted to come). Given when that was, Kenny was almost 35 years old and I’m two and a half years younger. On one trip, when several people were also there for a weekend, but all still out hunting one morning, he and I both arrived back at camp, a nice house actually, on our Suzuki 4-wheelers. They were a matched set of machines. … Continue reading Circling 4-Wheelers