leonard t de leon

Welder-Fabricator-Craftsman

Leonard was a life long skilled Craftsman earning a living as a Welder, Fabricator, Heavy Equipment/Crane Operator and Rigger. Leonard's skills took him to various oil field equipment fabrication companies located between Houston and Aransas Pass, Texas.

Moe and his 100 incher

Leonard once had a friend named Moe that road a 100 inch "stroker"

Leonard admired Moe and the man's courage to throw a leg on and ride such a (as leonard put it) "radical" motorcycle. "Radical" in the fact that almost all Harley-Davidsons (at the time) were 74 cubic inches.

Moe way surpassed the saying of the day, "seventy four or more" with his 100 inch "stroker."

R.I.P. Moe

a stroll in the park

Leonard on his Honda 305 scrambler, somewhere near the Guadalupe River in 1966.

---photo by pat---

...hand in the cookie jar

Leonard "getting his sandwich on"
God Bless you Leonard and enjoy that sandwich.

---photo from pat---

ZZTop's "First Annual B-B-Q and Barn Dance" 09/01/74

concert ticket stub

Leonard with State Capital Dome in background.

Leonard working his way thru the crowd.

Leonard and Bonnie.

When "smoke" gets in your eyes.

The radio announcement went: "All roads lead to Austin on September 1st for ZZ Top's First Annual B-B-Q and Barn Dance".
ZZ Top Headlined that day with Santana, Bad Company and Joe Cocker warming up the crowd.

air-headzzz???...NO!...ROK GODZZZZ!!!!!...BOW DOWN!

The slogan going around those days was: "Beautify America, Get A Haircut."
That slogan/bumper sticker came and went!
These "wild-n-crazy" guys lived by, the never old saying: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

THE "ONE"

rat-racing

Leonard and Ronny doing a little "rat-racing" at the lakes in 1966.

---photo by pat---

leo-n-cock 2001

leonard and Adcock (leo-n-cock) on bikes in 2001.

All Smiles!

Leonard always knew how to have a good time by giving a "putt" to the chicks.
Leonard is here with a cousin riding on "little bro's" 76flh...All Smiles!...all the way.

Style-ing & profile-ing

Leonard once owned an early model Harley "shovel-head" chopper.

leonard had "it all going on" with that chopper in looks and style (on a budget).
No doubt "old skool" and way, way forward with the envision of a chopper or bobber.
Pullback handlebars, bobbed rear fender, "slab" side engine lower case.
The pure essence of simple style....LEONARD HAD THE TOUCH! and "touched" us all.

zippo + christmas tree pyro trick....

Leonard's favorite outside "party favor" was to light up the old discarded christmas tree laying in the back yard. Leonard did this "favor" for the party goers at his b-day party in Tommy's back yard.

---photos courtesy of Tommy---

Tommy's Back Yard off Colorado St.

happy b-day, Leonard

Leonard and life long best friend, Tommy "dutch lane" Hernandez hanging out at Tommy's back yard on Colorado St.

---photos courtesy of Tommy---

harley sticker on Leonard's coffin...

Luck J BTL had the idea for a Harley sticker on Leonard's funeral casket and ran the ideal to the family with a responding "YES!"

attitude...starts with a KICK!

attitude...starts with a KICK!
Leonard lived by that creed.

"kilo"

Leonard had a lot of pet dogs in his lifetime and probably favored "kilo" the most.

Leonard once had the "pick of the litter" of some Norwegian Elkhound puppies.
Leonard picked the biggest puppy of the litter, hence the name, "Kilo".
"Kilo" was a very intelligent K-9 and picked up commands and tricks with little or no re-inforcment in training.
Leonard would (at every chance) take "Kilo" to the park for a few rounds of catch the frisbee.
"Kilo" had natural talent to catch the frisbee in his jaw while jumping in mid-air.
People at the park would be sit and be amazed as "Kilo" did his thing.

Leonard thought of his dog "Kilo" as a STUD and would let him out to prowl the hood and as Leonard would put it, "...get some (tail) from some female dog..."

One night "Kilo" did not return home and Leonard received a phone call the next day from the local Veterinarian holding "Kilo's" tags.

"Kilo" had been shot by someone a couple of blocks away. "Kilo" was a very strong dog and tried to crawl back to Leonard's house, only making some 20 to 30 feet. A "concerned citizen" called the Vet and "Kilo" was identified.

Leonard recovered "Kilo" and took him to a pet cemetery on the south side of big "H" for a decent funeral and burial.

"Kilo" was a brother to Leonard with all the love a man could have with a K-9.

Leonard cried that day.....

"pinrod"

Leonard once had a pet cat he called "Pinrod", probably named after some motorcycle part.
"Pinrod" was a female cat and once got knocked up by some lucky tom cat in the neighborhood.
When it came time for "Pinrod" to have its litter, Leonard made a nest in his t-shirt drawer of his clothes cabinet.
"Pinrod" was thankful to Leonard and accepted the location for the birth of her kittens.
After the "domino" of kittens on the cushion of cotton t-shirts, Leonard took the shirts to the Laundromat for a wash.
Leonard had a big affection for his cat, "Pinrod" and was very sad when the cat wondered off later during a flood in the neighborhood.

aboriginal original

booga-booga-boogaman!...or what your parents warned you about.

Leonard liked to play "dress up"...even if it took to being "Dressed down"
Leonard bought a new Polaroid Instant Camera, took it home, grabbed a spear and had some pictures of him playing (caveman) dress up.

more good and crazy times on Lynne Street in the (concrete) jungle called big "H".

"sh!t-n-git!"

Leonard often referred to the catch phrase, "sh!t-n-git!"
That certainly applies to Leonard's action of scrambling up the hill in this photo.

Is that old uncle henry in the background?

---photo by pat---

Hair Nation

Leonard and some "boyz in tha hood", the flip, wench & lucky j btl.

chunking the disk at Mustang Is.

Leonard called playing frisbee, "chunking the disk."
Leonard's large frisbee collection kept the Wham-o Toy company busy in producing many, many frisbees in deferent designs, colors, weights and sizes.
A favorite "chunk" was to go to the beach, throw the frisbee into the wind and retrieve the disk with a boomerang technique.

"shag-a-delic" entertainment center, 70s style

Leonard was into "techno" stuff way back in the day.

Items in Leonard's early 70s "entertainment center" include: record/LP turntable, vinyl disk cleaner, 19" color TV with rabbit ears, AM/FM amplifier/receiver, 8-track tape player and stereo headphones.

other items include: gold plaster cast cobra, gold plaster cast rampart lion (headphones on lion's head), 8-track collection, record/LP collection, little brown jug, ivy plant, palm plant, Persian design rug and wall covering.

SHAG-A-DELIC BABY!