Aging, Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, My Family, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

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No apologies for that, as I can almost guarantee you what he would have said if someone offered their opinion on the matter. He smoked his whole life from about age 9. He drank heavily except for about a decade and half, which was from when I was born until I became a teenager. But before that time he was hell on wheels and after that time he became legendary around Smithwick and beyond. Cecil Lewis lived his life throwing caution to the wind. He didn’t spend a lot of his time contemplating his next move. He just got a … Continue reading My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

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It wouldn’t be hard to take away from my previous stories that Cec wasn’t a perfect man in every way. He was hard on us boys. Not just his sons, but all those that worked for him or even just hung out with us. He wanted stuff done and done then. He didn’t take to a lot of foot dragging. For any of his faults he could fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. But as strange at it may seem, if anything broke or got wrecked, he always kept his cool. It was as if at … Continue reading Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

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The Gatesville State School For Boys

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When I was a kid growing up in the 60s, The Gatesville State School for Boys was the primary place that juvenile delinquent boys were housed. That place had a long and not always a glorious past and was closed in 1979. Following is some history of that place that brought fear in young boys when they were told “You’d Better Straighten Up Or You’ll End Up In Gatesville”. Believe me, we understood that language. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatesville_State_School Continue reading The Gatesville State School For Boys

Texas History, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

San Antonio’s Union Stockyards

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I personally have great memories of this place. I was blown away to learn that actual auction rings with the auction calls we are now familiar with have only been around for around 60 years. Prior to that a cattle stockyard was a place that ranchers met up and sold their livestock to each other with the facility being there to weight the stock and help with the money transfer. I didn’t know the real history behind this place but I was able to find this article, which is the best writing I’ve found on the history of the SA … Continue reading San Antonio’s Union Stockyards

Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

State Juvenile Training School Cemetery Gatesville, Coryell County, Texas

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This is a small cemetery at Gatesville at what was the Boy’s Reformatory. There are 16 graves. Most died in a fairly short period of time 3-4 years. One died in 1908 and all the others died between 1916 – 1920. Pneumonia appears to be the major cause of death with Typhoid Fever and Meningitis also showing up on death certificates. I saw a drowning in the river as the cause of another. I suppose while trying to escape. Times were hard and if they were a long distance away from their homes, they just didn’t have a means or … Continue reading State Juvenile Training School Cemetery Gatesville, Coryell County, Texas

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

It Can Get Hot In May

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Looks like we have a fairly nice week coming up. Well after today it shouldn’t be just oppressively hot. Of course today’s 96° won’t be bad after those 100°+ stuff the past few of days. I remember back in the early 80s, I bid a wastewater project in Laredo, right down along the Rio Grande River. My old bookkeeper Woody went down with me to look at it. He dumped me out up on the upper end and drove about five miles down the river to a predetermined location where I’d be coming up out of the bottoms. I headed … Continue reading It Can Get Hot In May

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

A Lincoln Town Car Sedan With Dual Tires On All Four Wheels

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My friend and colleague Gerry I got to the restaurant at the same time one morning. This took place south of Dallas at the town of Waxahachie. As we were walking in I saw a strange sight. A new Lincoln Continental was parked front and center. It looked like any other car of that make, except it was equipped with dual tires all the way around. Each tire was only approximately half the width of a normal car tire. It was the strangest thing I’d seen in a while. We stood there discussing it for a bit, trying to figure … Continue reading A Lincoln Town Car Sedan With Dual Tires On All Four Wheels

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Rolling Back The Odometer

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I told in an earlier story about working during my senior year of high school at an Auto Dealership. I was in the Distributive Education Program, allowing me to spend the afternoon actually working on a job where I made money, instead of sitting in a classroom wasting my time. At least that’s the way it felt. For my job I moved cars around from place to place, cleaned up cars, took out the trash and vacuumed the floors in the offices. I did pretty much anything that was needed to be done. I even drove cars around town to … Continue reading Rolling Back The Odometer

Aging, Funny Happenings, Phone Scam, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Ring Ring Ring

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Hello this is Joseph Smith with Medicare Claims Department. Is the Ronald? No, this is Frank his Son. Can I speak to Ronald? No. We are having his funeral on Sunday. Will you be able to come? Did Ronald die? Yes Sir, that’s why we are burying him on Sunday. I’m sorry. That’s okay. Can you get us some death benefits, to help pay for the funeral expenses? A, a, a, that’s not in my department. We are going to miss him, he was such a great man. If you need to get ahold of me, I’m going to keep … Continue reading Ring Ring Ring

Aging, Funny Happenings, Phone Scam, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Ring A Ling Ding

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Mr. Lewis this is the GM Warranty Department. Me in my regular voice: Hello GMW Man: I see your warranty on your 2018 GMC has expired. I can offer………… Me in a distress voice: I don’t have it any longer. GMW Man: Well thank you. Me in a crying voice: Don’t hang up. Can you help me. They took my pickup away from me and sold it. GMW Man: Why did they do that, Mr. Lewis. Me in a crying voice: They said I can’t drive any more. GMW Man: Hopefully you’ll get it back: Me now in an crying … Continue reading Ring A Ling Ding