When I moved to Austin twenty odd years ago, amusing stories circulated that told what made the city different from the rest of Texas. It was said, the area was covered with a rainbow bubble that kept the community young, vital and open-minded. Once people hit the highway and cruised outside the city limits, they entered the land of conservative “rednecks” that typified the rest of Texas. I remember thinking: it’s to be expected, after all Austin holds at its heart a large university. When I mentioned that to “old” Austinites, ones who'd been privy to a lot more local legends, they scoffed at my superficial assessment. Yes, the university accounted for some of the dynamic liberalism evident, but there was much more to it. And as the account went on, there was always mention of the part Lady Bird played in the unfolding of Austin's distinctiveness.
If legend serves truth, in the late 1960's and early '70's, parents from the conservative towns and rural ranches across Texas sent their precious (and also conservative) high school graduates into Austin for a “liberal” education. Well, they got more liberated than expected—and not just in the ideological arena. They grew long hair, donned ratty clothing with strange symbols slapped on them, and just generally appeared disheveled. To a one, they proved an embarrassment on their visits home. The proverbial hand-writing was on the wall: after graduation, there was no way they could return home for good. Especially because their young no longer wanted to go back; they liked it just fine within the bubble of broadminded Austin. So the parents put their heads together—we're talking mostly about the Texas oil and cattle rich now—to make the town of Austin a paradise for young families. And who comes galloping in to play a role, but Lady Bird Johnson with a city beautification program.
Running from west to east across Austin, the shore line of the Colorado River was lassoed into a city park that to this day includes the most attractive and amazing features. For example, the Barton Springs swimming pool is a huge, spring-fed part of the river that has been cordoned off and equipped with all the amenities including diving board and life guards. Nearby is a fantastic playscape and nature center for Austin’s young. Even a miniature railroad runs under the trees along the river during the summer season. Also in this area, called Zilker Park, are open grassy areas and botanical gardens. Soccer and baseball fields are tucked away here and there. And from this hub of activity run the hike and bike trails that follow the river across town. Beyond a doubt Lady Bird's work resulted in Austin's premier recreational attractiveness to this day.
Back in the days, before Lady Bird's beautification program hit town, the Colorado River was divided by damns into a series of lakes that cross central Texas. So while I have been calling the stretch of water that runs through Austin “the river,” until recently it was referred to as “Town Lake.” After Lady Bird's death, the name was changed to “Lady Bird.” A modest woman, she would not allow city officials to use her name in junction with the lake while she lived, but on her deathbed agreed to the request. As a result, many “old” Austinites—and after decades here, I consider myself one—cannot forget she left here a special expression of her love for the city-under-the-bubble. We now look out across the water, or along the green shores, and feel ourselves a part of her legacy. We want to tread lightly on her trails, swim gracefully in the springs and celebrate with joy the nature around us. This was Lady Bird's ultimate gift: she gave us beauty, knowing its power never fades away, but lives forever in our midst.
]]>Generalhttp://awayfromhannahscastle.com/journL/index.php?itemid=9Sun, 2 Sep 2007 21:39:12 -0400“Dis”-ing London: Two Years After the Bombings
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The filmmaker also asked me to free associate, drawing up a list of ideas that came to mind while thinking of the word “chaos.” I guess it was his way of handling the term itself rather chaotically. At any rate, with London in mind, I did what he said and turned up fourteen ways the car bombings left chaos behind. To my surprise, six of the fourteen descriptive terms started with the same syllable, “dis-.” The words included: disorder, disquiet, disruption, disturbance, disarray and disarrangement. I wonder how much of all these “dis”-es continue to grip the people of London two years later. Especially as the car bombs hit other parts of the United Kingdom. My sense is that when the chaos is so extreme, and reminders keep terrorizing the collective psyche years later, London is still pummeled by all of the aforementioned “dis”-es.
The myth of contemporary culture is that we are able to live everyday free of chaos and strife. We are bombarded with advertising campaigns that subtly lull us into believing comfort and happiness are our birthrights. All it takes is London or Dublin car bombings, an air strike on New York or a hurricane to wipe out an entire Louisiana city, for us to catch a glimpse of the precarious balance between living and dying. These disasters happen, and then chaos ensues, demonstrating how life is not fair to every one. But nobody is singled out for pain, or loss. Despite how it appears from a superficial glance, none of us gets a lifetime free from chaos. In big or small amounts, each of us will be “dis”-ed (as in disturbed, disquieted, disarranged, etc.).
While life may seem unfair in this regard, it is important to remember that balance is important—between instances of “dis”-integration (another “dis” word that could be freely associated with chaos) and other occasions when things go smoothly. Unfortunately this balance may be lost in chaotic moments, when the idea of regaining stability can seem impossible. This is especially true when the ‘dis”-es appear in a never-ending series, like the car bombings. In the worst moments, Londoners might feel the “dis”-es so strongly that things become senseless. In other words, life gets so chaotic that the senses no longer register familiarity. One may wonder “where is…” just about anything—the car, the supermarket, the bank or something simple like the keys presently clutched in a hand. Gripped by “dis”-es, a person can feel awfully lost in any environment, even places frequented for years. Immersed in chaos, familiarity itself becomes the stranger.
Unfortunately, there is no known antidote, or tried-and-true pathway through chaos. But as months go by, the roar of the “dis”-es subsides, and views of a peaceful London may capture the mind. At times, fresh prospects seem unattainable, due to the roar of unbridled violence. But intermittently the bellowing subsides, and if the mind has not clamped down on fear and negativity, the healthier vistas can be sighted. Then as years continue to pass, more and more images of stability may be garnered and held tightly.
World-wide, people realize London is doing well under the circumstances. It takes a certain amount of trust in the process of healing, but when it is there, a renewed sense of balance is inevitable. As the city mends, it is best not to expect a return to some old state of well-being, or even a new one for that matter. The better choice is to focus on the recovery process and not the results at all. Have faith the “dis”-ing of London will not ultimately lead to her ruin or demoralization. Instead, she will turn the other cheek—the one of extraordinary beauty for which she is known.
]]>Generalhttp://awayfromhannahscastle.com/journL/index.php?itemid=7Sat, 7 Jul 2007 22:33:42 -0400Steve Irwin: Clown & Statesman
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Irwin’s death begs us to pause for a moment and note the fleeting nature of life. In my doing so I came to an interesting conclusion: values have shifted over the years until only a few remain sanctioned by our contemporary society. For example, it is heroic in our culture to die young if you are a soldier fighting for freedom and democracy. The death of such a young man brings kudos and immediate acceptance among the general populace. In this case it’s patriotic to leave behind a wife and young children.
Irwin died while attempting to continue what he’d done for years—making people happy by interacting with the natural world in a way that held most of us spellbound. Still people will say that he was stupid and reckless for trekking off into the deepest wilderness and taking us along for a gander. In my estimation, if our values weren’t so constricted, we would see beyond a doubt Irwin died for his ideals; highly laudable one’s that did not require the killing and maiming of anyone or anything. He died introducing the rest of us to the endangered species of our planet. He presented each of them as if they were his friends, hands on and not hiding behind a camera or off in the bush.
At any rate, I understand the heads of the Australian government wanting to give Irwin the burial of a statesman. Like a soldier from any country, he lived and died upholding the ideal that warm, familial relations can still be maintained between humans and other earthly creatures. Moreover, through his work over the years, Irwin became more than the consummate outdoors man, he was sensational as an ambassador of joy and wonder. He showed the rest of the adult world how to maintain the innocent anticipation of childhood, even when faced with the dangers inherent in the rawest of nature. He did it by delving into the few hidden areas of wildness that are left on earth and becoming a bit wild himself. And we loved him for it. As huge numbers of people now contemplate his death, I hope they will remember him as a modern emissary of enchantment: Steve Irwin, the man who openly shared his fun and never harmed a flea.
]]>Diary From DailyKos.comhttp://awayfromhannahscastle.com/journL/index.php?itemid=5Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:58:04 -0500Thoughts on the Movie An Inconvenient Truth
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I went away from this movie in awe of the potential Al Gore tapped. Imagine if every politician and university educator who holds a treasure-trove of really important, relevant information gets together with the finest, most accomplished filmmakers. Then we suddenly have a chance of getting smart about an inexhaustible number of things using a medium we have come to enjoy—movie watching. This film is transformational in another way. Just as reality television has become popular entertainment over the past few years, An Inconvenient Truth is reality film. Only unlike what’s on TV, Gore’s, Moore’s and others like it, presents the reality that matters, or at least it should. Another one coming out this summer is What Happened to Electric Cars? This is a topic sure to thrill Gore as it comes out on the heels of his own movie and I’m certain will expose more of the inconvenient truth we’ve ignored in the past. And that brings me to my final point about the medium being the message.
An Inconvenient Truth gives a new twist to the idea of action films as well. The movie is meant to spur viewers into action. We aren’t supposed to sit by and watch some kung fu fighter kick the living tar out of a bad guy. We are supposed to look at the screen and catch a glimpse of ourselves as the bad guys. Then we’re to leave the theater, kicking our own butts out of complacency and into less detrimental actions for the earth. Well, it worked for me; I have consciously made some lifestyle changes. And going further, I subscribed to Kos and entered this, my very first blog. Perhaps that is not the action-packed response expected, but I think every deed, no matter how small, is action well taken.
]]>Diary From DailyKos.comhttp://awayfromhannahscastle.com/journL/index.php?itemid=4Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:55:07 -0500The SCARS of NEW ORLEANS
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I like the analogy of scars forming over the wounds of a city that faced annihilation just a year ago. Scars focus the viewer’s attention on the recovery of the city, not the initial devastation. I believe the revival-in-progress deserves the world’s attention as much as the tragedy did twelve months earlier. And more than a cursory glance is justified. Like any scars, those of the people and parishes of Louisiana need to be studied for signs of returning health, because the wounds go deep. Many outsiders questioned, especially in the beginning, whether or not the city would even survive. Some evidence suggests it will, while limited funding and slight progress in the hardest hit parishes might indicate the chances of total recuperation are slim. The viewer is given pictures that suggest the situation can go either way, but one thing is sure: the final determination is apt to be made under the surface, deep into the first layers of the scaring. And it is in the first year the deepest scabs are formed over the wounds. If they are clean and well healed what forms in the months and years to come will follow suit. On the other hand, if grime and infection pock the under layers, then a weak foundation for healing is imminent and the growth ahead cannot help but be stunted and deformed. We need to look at the scars of New Orleans and judge its potential for a vigorous return to well being.
The time for clearing away the debris left in Katrina’s wake is coming to a close. One year later, 35,000 tons of refuse has been cleared from the city. The wound has been pretty much scraped clean. Now we can look with fresh eyes at the vulnerable pockets of urban landscape that one day soon will be hidden by new buildings, or close to the weakest levies, reclaimed by nature. More importantly, we are able to see the humble beginnings of a New Orleans dissimilar to that of the past. Part of the old soul has been unearthed, only for the citizens to turn and walk away from it, choosing to create a new city. Of course the flavor of the French quarter will not budge. But from the looks of things, it is destined to move over and let another soul shine through. Tomorrow’s New Orleans is apt to be more egalitarian and future-reaching, as it now refuses to simply reach back towards some pre-Katrina state. In the end, it looks as if New Orleans might carry scars, but a new beauty exists that also makes these remaining marks easy to ignore.
]]>Diary From DailyKos.comhttp://awayfromhannahscastle.com/journL/index.php?itemid=3Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:51:39 -0500