Am I an Austinite yet?

Summer in Austin is fun, the heat kills but the extra elbow room is much appreciated. Students are gone, people stay indoors, still it makes a significant dent in the population. The heat isn't quite so bad under a canopy of shade trees. It really is tolerable with a glass of lemonade or iced tea in the shade. Once evening descends, it can be dreamy. It's always nice at the movies.

I love that Magnolia's still serves mint-hibiscus tea. It tastes just as it did twenty years ago when I had it for the first time. It was August 1989. I can't believe so much time has passed. Walking down South Congress feels like a carnival midway. The The Airstreams parked on gravel give it that feel for me. Colorful boutique signs glow, lots of happy people. A stop at Hey Cupcake reminds me of the 70's because that was the golden age of cupcakes for me. They were a huge part of my childhood. En route to Magnolia's I passed some kiosks selling snow cones and frozen bananas, more from what seems like summers upon summers past. My current mood is a direct result of these sights.

Meandering in and out of stores along the sidewalk, I wanted to remember something but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's many things but that moment was searching for something more specific. I become nostalgic when I enter South Austin. That was where my life in this town began. Those first four years were spent living in South Austin.

South Congress is so alive and worlds away from what is was. Mostly it was desolate. Only a few antique stores, Lucy in Disguise, the St Vincent De Paul's thrift store and the western shop were the only destinations. Tons of posters and flyers for bands would hang on posts and cover the windows. I used to wonder what was going to happen to the old, empty store fronts. We are all looking happier these days. No space is left empty.

At home there are a few mix tapes and old New Wave bands on cassettes in a small box. The other day I found a short, black tulle petticoat I'd wear under short skirts. I used to wear black fishnets and combat boots with those skirts. Then we used to take the #1 to Lucy in Disguise and buy more short skirts. I still own the combat boots. It never felt quite safe on South Congress after dark. The street walkers and squirrely men would emerge and the shops would close, all but Lucy in Disguise. We'd take the #1 southbound back to the dorm and listen to music and paint.

The drive back home was nice and breezy. Spectators on the Congress Ave bridge waiting for the bats to emerge. Crossing the river, passing West Campus, passing Red River, passing Hyde Park, each year I would move further north. I've stopped moving north. Where we live now is considered Central Austin. It's been twenty years, am I an Austinite yet? I don't know.

Speaking of twenty years ago: