Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Harold & Catherine

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Harold and Catherine were some of the first people that moved in at Smithwick Mills, the subdivision my dad had built from our old home place. They had spent most, if not all of their long married life in Houston. With the crime and meanness going on, they felt Smithwick calling. They became very good friends to my parents. In the later part of the 1970s Kenny and I had contracted some work up on Mormon Mill Road, in Marble Falls, installing water and wastewater lines for a development that Mike O’Connor was building. It required a lot of blasting … Continue reading Harold & Catherine

Aging, Amazing Things, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Now Don’t Get Me Wrong, I Ain’t No Doctor

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I’m sitting around here this morning thinking about my poor hurting neck and shoulder. In fact it’s hard to do much else. This situation has my attention. I’ve spent the last three plus months with not much else on my mind except this. Don’t get me wrong, if I take enough drugs into my body, it leaves me along for a few hours, but the nagging always returns. I went in on Friday and got the third shot, one a month for three months and it is more painful now than it’s been being. Stored in my phone are photographs … Continue reading Now Don’t Get Me Wrong, I Ain’t No Doctor

Amazing Things, My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Big Surprise (from Nov. 2014)

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I had a very pleasant surprise this evening. I got a text from a very dedicated employee, Chris Chapman and his wife Jeni. Jeni is the daughter of Madeline’s brother David. Chris has worked for the company almost his entire adult life, just short of 20 years. They had left a box by our back door here in Bertram. When I went out and retrieved and opened it, there were 5 copies of The Angora Chronicles, volume one. It has 67 stories, mostly some of the first stories I submitted. It is so professionally done. When Chris heard about my … Continue reading My Big Surprise (from Nov. 2014)

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

I Just Had A Winfield Scott Memory Pop Up In My Head

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Not long before Winfield’s death, I was in Houston and met him for lunch near his downtown office. He had not yet been disbarred for getting busted with drugs. He was making plans to come to Austin and open a practice. The rules about Attorney’s had changed allowing television advertising. Houston was saturated with those commercials but it hadn’t so much made it’s way to Austin. He was sure that him investing in a great advertising campaign would put him on the map post haste. He certainly had the line of BS to go a long way. Maybe had things … Continue reading I Just Had A Winfield Scott Memory Pop Up In My Head

Amazing Things, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Did Your Mother In Law Ever Gift You Anything Like This ?

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Back several years ago I had a friend that was the Director or the American Quarter Horse Association. She had seen our Company BBQ Trailer that we had put together and wanted to know if I’d sell it to her to auction off at their Annual Meeting that was taking place out at Los Angeles, California. It looked pretty good back in the day, but it had been pulled many miles and would need a makeover before it would have been suitable to send. Besides, that would have left us without a trailer to drag around to job sites to … Continue reading Did Your Mother In Law Ever Gift You Anything Like This ?

Aging, Crazy Times, No Place Like Bertram, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Afternoon I Went On A Donkey Buying Spree

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Right after we moved to our place in Bertram, I decided we needed to get some guard donkeys. I inquired around and found a women down the road a piece had three Jenny’s and a Jack she wanted to sell. Being green to buying such animals, I went to see her and ended up making a deal for the whole bunch. Of course I paid about double the going rate. I’m not even going to tell you what I paid. It’s been about 27 years ago that I made that transaction, so let’s just say I’ve forgotten the price. But … Continue reading The Afternoon I Went On A Donkey Buying Spree

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Styrofoam Cup Incident

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Back in 1977 I was finishing up a project out west of Houston and had another one going down in Crystal City, Texas. I spent a while on the Houston job that morning lining out the guys there. Paul was the one I was leaving in charge. We drank several cups of coffee. I pulled out about mid morning for south Texas, a good long 5 hour drive. It started to rain and it was a cold wintery day. I got over onto I-10 and was heading to San Antonio. Somewhere along the way it occurred to me in a … Continue reading The Styrofoam Cup Incident

Aging, Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Taking The Bait or Not

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This was written around 5 years ago. I stumbled across it earlier so I thought I’d repeat it now, as we are approaching our 50th year of marriage which is next month. When You Know You’ve Been Married Too Long (or maybe just the right amount of time) Madeline and I got away for the weekend. She has booked us a cabin on the Frio River. It’s wonderful, peaceful and very relaxing. Last night we ventured down the river a ways to the little town of Concan. We each had the special, a very ample serving of catfish and all … Continue reading Taking The Bait or Not

Another Daily Happening, Kenny Lewis, The Early Days, Uncategorized3 Comments

On A Quest To Buy A Truck

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On the day after Thanksgiving in 1977 Kenny and I went to Cross Plains, Texas to look at a potential truck purchase to haul our equipment with. We started out from Smithwick. We were both there with our families where we were spending the holidays with our mom and dad. Being a 3 hour trip up to northwest we left early in the morning and arrived in Cross Plains by 8:00 AM. We had seen an ad for this used truck dealer in a magazine. When we got there, they had a sea of trucks on the lot. We test … Continue reading On A Quest To Buy A Truck

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My Friend & Classmate Gary

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I wrote one time about the summer before I was going on to the 4th grade and losing a friend/classmate to a train crash at US 183 where MOPAC now intersects. There were nothing but warning lights and some said even they weren’t working. He and his father was going into Austin, from Jollyville where we lived and went to school. It was early on a Saturday morning. We were out for summer vacation, but word reached us soon. We had just finished 3rd grade. It was strange returning to school when summer was over. It was our first time … Continue reading My Friend & Classmate Gary