His name was Buddy...

His full name was Buddy Lookingbill.  Ain't kidding.  Wore that moniker all his life.  He is dead now.  Flipped a new Lincoln somewhere out in west Texas, headed to Las Vegas for the Amateur Bowling Championship.  His sainted wife (Dolly) was treasurer of that organization for years.

Buddy came in that morning of the trip after releasing a rig in south Texas on a difficult well.  Hadn't had much sleep.  Not like Buddy to insist on driving, but according to Dolly, he did.  And he lost it.

Not that he was a daredevil.  He worked 15-20 years for Halliburton before joining Texas Oil and Gas as a company man.  I was his mud man, and later he was my mentor as TXO was willing to pee off a few million dollars training me on insignificant stuff like how to run casing, how a wellhead is configured, how to kill a kick, etc.

Buddy's forte was cementing and fracking.  I didn't get any frac mentoring, except to know that Shell Oil used to road Buddy's crew from Edinburg (deep south) Texas to northern New Mexico, and paid windshield time both ways, just because he was that good.

I observed many times in his company man shack or the toolie's shack when the cementer would get rigged up, then come out and get his casing and displacement figures and they would settle up on procedure.  The cementer would ALWAYS end with this question......."How long are we going to circulate before we cement?"

Buddy would always have the same answer......."Until that mud gets right..."

Some would ask "and how long will that take?"

And he would answer......"As long as it takes......"

Thinka bout it darlin'......and yes, Tex, this is related to our ongoing discussion somewhere else....

DeeperCheaper