Take last Thursday for instance. It was a gorgeous day. Very spring-y. Had a decent day at work, and as I was leaving, I was sitting in traffic, waiting for my turn to go left on to southbound Lamar at Sixth. While waiting at the redlight, here came a group of unicyclists--3 dudes and a chick. Their unicycles were really tall, and they were all wearing helmets. They were just hauling ass down the sidewalk during rush hour like it was the most normal thing in the world. As I sat there with my sunroof open, enjoying the breeze and grinning at the unicyclists, I thought to myself, "Well they're really doing their part to keep Austin weird, God bless 'em." Well, no sooner had that thought entered my mind when I saw what was coming up the sidewalk behind them: an oiled up, manscaped dude on a bike wearing nothing but a tiny red g-string. And when I say tiny, I really, really mean it. Unlike the unicyclists, this guy didn't make the light, so had to stop and wait until he got the green light to cross. During his brief respite--when I'm sure every eye in every car stopped at the intersection was drawn to him like a freakin' trainwreck--he decided to, um, adjust himself. Rather vigorously. It was a sight to behold, people.
After the freakshow at the intersection, I went and got The Geej, and we headed a little party the parents one of her classmates were hosting. The occasion? It was First Thursday, and one of The Geej's teachers was singing with his band. The party was held two blocks from the site of the gig (the parking lot of Jo's and the San Jose), and the hosts had pizza and tacos for eats, and beverages for the kids...and the grown ups. At gig time, we all walked down together, and the kiddos all wore their "laminates"--faux backstage passes that their teacher had made for all of them. It was SO much fun. The weather was perfection, the kiddos were all rocking out, and the teacher--Mr. Gabe--did a great job. Check it:
Did you ever have teachers this cool? I sure as hell didn't.
4 comments:
homesick now.
that is why I, too, love Austin. the idiosyncracies that just make it unique.
Karla
I know Gabe! His brother used to work for me, a loooong time ago, and later Gabe was the favorite teacher of Hannah's BFF. He's a great guy.
I've seen that G-string guy. So did Hazel, who observed, "That's a funny outfit to wear on a bike." Um, yeah.
The Geej's teacher inviting all the kids to his gig is so awesome. I love it.
I have had the pleasure of staying at the 'San Jose'. It is just another wonderful part of the Austin experience, and a continuing part of 'keeping Austin weird'
Being a transplanted Yankee, I am so happy that my children found their way to UT and I got to learn about Austin in an intimate fashion. If I could move there, I would be in the moving van NOW!
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