Since I couldn’t sleep, I wrote.

Austin
Volume 1 con’t

My little Vespa put-putted me home. I live in the trendy “SoCo” area of Austin. “SoCo” is an abbreviation for “South Congress Avenue.” Now, for many many years, South Congress Avenue was called “South Congress Avenue.” But real estate prices sky-rocketted in the 1990s, driving the middle-class — along with their mundane middle-class street names — out into the suburbs. The new, richer residents were able to support trendy hair salons, trendy boutiques, and trendy coffee bars. South Congress Avenue had become all shiny with money, and required a shiny new name, and SoCo was born. The older Austinites, when asked to meet someone in SoCo, still say, “Where? Oh yeah, South Congress.”

The name of my neighborhood is “Travis Heights.” Travis Heights is a mix of hippies with money and Republicans with money. They live side-by-side under an uneasy truce forged by money.

I pulled into my driveway and walked across my verdant green lawn. I liked to keep my neighbors guessing. The hybrid vehicle said Democrat, but the liberally-watered Saint Augustine grass in Austin’s semi-arid climate screamed Republican. I’m sure the neighbors with immaculate xeriscaped gardens (read: rocks and cacti) regarded me with pity and contempt.

As I opened the door, the phone began to ring. I picked it up. “Hello,” I said as I began to put my groceries away.

“Hey! What are you doing tonight?” It was my friend, Sarita.

“I don’t have anything planned. Why?”

“They’re finally showing a subtitled Hindi film at the theater. Come over.”

“I don’t know. I was thinking of having a quiet evening.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a romance — they’re the best! You have to come.”

“Okay, I’ll be right over.”

Sarita and her family live in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. There is quite a healthy Indian population in Austin, but there is an even healthier Indian population in Round Rock. The Round Rock school district is said to be one of the best in the Austin area, and thus Indians.

Round Rock is physically twenty miles north of downtown Austin. Mentally, it’s in Georgia. What many people don’t understand about Austin is that it is a little oasis of wacky liberal hippies in the giant desert of the conservative South. And Round Rock, though physically close to Austin, still claims allegiance to the conservative South. Unfortunately for the Round Rock residents, real estate prices are driving more and more Austinites into the suburbs. Soon, they will be overrun by vegetable-eating, recycling, small car-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, liberal-voting Austinites. And when the Wiccans start spreading into Round Rock… well, there goes the neighborhood. It’s time to move to Hutto.

It’s very easy to tell when you are leaving Austin and nearing Round Rock simply by the number of SUVs, mini-vans, and trucks that begin to appear on the road. Four-door sedans look like Matchbox cars.

——————–

OMG! It’s 1am. *sigh* I really need to get on a regular schedule. Good night.