Make Austin Weird Again

The pace of growth of Austin, Texas cannot be believed. The tentacles of Austin spread in every direction from downtown. I attended a pre-Thanksgiving gathering today in Bastrop, Texas-- maybe 20 miles to the east of Central Austin. The highways were jammed with motorists traveling in both directions. A weekend jaunt to Lake Travis used to be a leisurely pursuit for swimming at Hippie Hollow or boating on the lake. Now you look over your shoulder in fear, striving to stay ahead of the competition on our racetracks, er... I mean our  highways and toll roads.

The Mopac Expressway bulges with traffic for more hours of the day. Rush hour has degenerated to many hours of rush-- gridlock in the morning and from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. in the evening. The pattern of growth continues while many of us fret over the disappearance of the beautiful, onetime bucolic town, that has attracted new arrivals since the 70s. I was one of them-- or us.

We still have Barton Springs for swimming in the heart of the city. The beautiful Hike & Bike Trail parallels the banks of the Colorado River and bustles with joggers and walkers just a few feet from downtown. And incredible entertainment, a constantly expanding array of restaurants and cultural events like SXSW and ACL, make this a special place.

But what if the onslaught of increased population continues at this present rate? Austin lacks the transportation infrastructure (subways) of that add to the viability of older American cities. We have a functioning bus system but most citizens avoid bus travel. Bicycle traffic represents a tiny portion of the community. Instead, we have become a sea of automobiles, a constant movement of shiny steel.  Even high quality, well-maintained vehicles degrade an environment at a certain point. We have too many damn cars!

Our reputation for being different, or weirder than other Texas cities led to the proud slogan "Keep Austin Weird." Maybe we need an orange-haired political leader to start a revolution to "Make Austin Weird Again." We can all start wearing those ball caps and recall the old days in Austin when a redheaded stranger named Willie Nelson united the hippies and the cowboys at the Armadillo World Headquarters.

The city leaders have grand visions for fighting the overwhelming influx on individual arriving on our shore from California, the East Coast, Michigan. The money and energy provided by our prosperous emigres-- the young, restless and computer literate-- have made us overconfident.  We are buzzing with energy and American optimism-- a belief that any problem can be solved through sound thinking. But this problem...life is good, but maybe just a little too good could leave us drowning in a sea of gridlocked traffic, and singing the blues... "I'm too sexy for my shirt."

I'm Too Sexy

Right Said Fred

I'm too sexy for my shirt
Too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it hurts
And I'm too sexy for Milan
Too sexy for Milan
New York, and Japan
I'm too sexy for your party
Too sexy for your party
No way I'm disco dancing