Keep Austin Weird?

“Keep Austin Weird” is widely considered one of the main slogans for this beautiful but admittedly quirky Texas capital town, along with its proud declaration of being “The Live Music Capital of the World.”  So why do we want to keep our town weird, anyway?  Do we mean weird as in unique?  Diverse?  Mysterious?  Extraordinary?  

Well, perhaps all of those definitions can apply.  For instance I don’t think there is any other locale who would vote the Mexican free-tailed bat as their official animal like our City Council did on April 8, 2010.  But that is actually fairly understandable, considering that the Congress Avenue Bridge is the home to the largest urban colony of these guys in North America.  You must come here some time between March and November (which everyone knows is “bat season”) because that is when each evening at dusk these 1.5 million nocturnal creatures shoot out from under the bridge in an undulating spotted cloud of fluttering wings, off to forage for food in the darkness.  So, not weird as in odd, but weird as in amazing. 

I was in Austin Bergstrom Airport the other day to pick up my daughter Holly who was returning from her exploratory visit to her future new home, Chicago, and was greeted with this sight – the central baggage carousel didn’t have a screen with flight information.  No, in Austin this functional everyday contraption is decorated with an entire array of larger-than-life “Guitar Art” for the enjoyment of all who come through.  But seriously, what else would you expect from “The Live Music Capital of the World?”  So this isn’t actually very weird, either.  “Play to your strengths” is more appropriate, I think. 

As I waited in the airport, what actually did strike me as weird, as in surprising, was the attire of the travelers.   Having been raised by a Mom under whose guidance all questions of etiquette were strictly referred to Emily Post, as in this case, “dress up when you travel,” the casual wardrobe of those congregating around the slowly circling bags was bordering on mutinous.  Yes, there was the occasional business suit with the matching Gucci luggage set, but much more prevalent garb included flip-flops or tennis shoes, tank tops and cutoffs proudly revealing tattoos and piercings, complete with gear like bedrolls lashed to backpacks with bungee cords.  In fact, the “dressed-up” look was more like flip-flops with jewels. 

My favorite piece of luggage that was rescued from the guitar-studded baggage carousel was a battered blue and white Coleman ice chest sealed hastily with thick silver duct tape and pulled with a frayed length of rope knotted to the handle.  But I realized, everyone was dressed perfectly appropriately – because they had just flown in to Austin, for goodness sake!    Some folks were returning home but many others had chosen to travel here on purpose to enjoy all that Austin has to offer.

So where were each of these visitors planning to go during their Austin stay?  What venues were on their sightseeing itinerary?  Were they going to pay a visit to the Bob Bullock Museum?

Or take an official tour of the State Capital?

Maybe their plans included a stroll around the “40 Acres” of the University of Texas campus, home of the Texas Longhorns?

Or possibly a walk or jog around the Hike & Bike Trail along the shores of Lady Bird Lake.

Of course at this time of year that activity will quickly make them hot and sticky so the next stop will obviously be a cool refreshing dip in historic natural spring-fed Barton Springs Pool.

  

Then without a doubt, no trip to Austin would be complete without dining at some of the thousands of fabulous restaurants, and then later in the evening hitting the Sixth Street scene or the Warehouse District for some of the live music that Austin is so famous for. 

Speaking of music, as I waited in the Austin airport that day, I decided that one thing was missing from the overall ambiance.  There was the Guitar Art and stores with lots of Austin-ish souvenirs, but it seemed like it would be fitting to actually hear music playing over the airport sound system, and especially perfect (in my totally unbiased opinion) would be the "Official Austin Song" chosen in 2009 by popular vote (thanks to the help of many of you) and continuing to reign to this day.  A streaming of this song, written and performed by my son Ryan Harkrider, entitled "Nobody Ever Wants to Leave" would add such a flair, such an Austin touch to the welcoming atmosphere as guests disembark from their flights and enter the "Live Music Capital."

You can go to his website which has a little player and you can listen to the Austin Song ~

http://www.ryanharkrider.com/

But in the meantime, just look at some of the words ~

So meet me down in Austin

Where the good times never end.

Let's kick off our shoes and let the fun begin.

You can come just as you are

There's nothing else you need,

'Cause when the good times roll

Make yourself at home

Nobody ever wants to leave.

                                                   ~ by Ryan Harkrider

So THAT'S why the travelers were so comfortably and casually dressed!  They were not governed by Emily Post rules, they knew they were coming to Austin and here you can….

Come just as you are, there’s nothing else you need.

And as I sat there in the Austin airport I had a revelation – THIS is how God wants us to feel when we come to HIM!  He wants us to feel comfortable, totally accepted, like we can just be ourselves and not put on airs or try to earn His love.   That’s why He had Jesus, the “King of Kings and the Lord of Lords” be born in a dirty old stable!  That’s why the angels appeared that night not to the royalty and religious dignitaries of Bethlehem but to the blue collar workers – the shepherds – to announce the Good News!  God was trying to make a crucial life-affirming point – that He is accessible to us all.  He values what is in our hearts, not any type of importance or status that the world can give.  I’m so glad.

Jesus declared, ‘I am the Bread of Life.  He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty…..Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.’     ~  John 6:35, 37

And as I saw Holly finally riding down on the escalator from her airline terminal on the second level above, her face lit up the moment she saw me, as I’m sure mine was beaming back at her as well.  THAT is how God looks at us when we come to Him – His face lights up in recognition and love for us.  And I’m glad my home is in a town that also welcomes everyone who comes, just the way they are. 

So, Keep Austin Weird?  I think it’s more like “Keep Austin Real!” 

Let's kick off our shoes and let the fun begin!

BONUS:  Here is one of Ryan's music videos which shows some more of the Austin highlights.  Enjoy.

High School Reunion!

This weekend I took a road trip from Austin to Fort Worth, Texas to attend my high school 35^th Reunion.  Arlington Heights High School, AHHS Seniors ’76 – Woo hoo!  It was dubbed a “mini-reunion” which means there was just one event – a gathering at a club on Saturday night, and mercifully there were no awards presented like “Most Successful” or “Least Changed,” no giant poster-sized senior pictures hanging from the ceiling, just some simple “Hello, My Name is…..” paper nametags to write on and, of course, live music outside on the club’s spacious patio. 



Arlington Heights High School, Fort Worth, Texas

Even though this reunion was slated as easy and casual, the prospect of seeing folks whom you haven’t seen in possibly decades still inspires quite the personal re-assessment, doesn’t it?  It’s like having company over who has never been to your home – you start seeing everything in a different light, and what seemed attractive and fine suddenly looks dingy and dated and you start a massive redecoration and spruce-up weeks before the guests are due to arrive.  

Yes, that’s what many of us do when we have an event like our high school reunion looming months in the future, isn’t it?  Suddenly we see ourselves with a new critical clarity – I mean, those people are our history!  They knew us “back when.”  It is at that moment of high school graduation that we are launched into the world of actually trying to make something of ourselves, and a reunion is the time to come back together and see how we all did! 

So when a reunion invitation arrives, for many of us the personal inventory begins in earnest – the dieting and working out are launched, the shopping for just the perfect flattering outfit, and the indulging in all the other beautifications available.   Because you see, one of the most coveted compliments at a high school reunion is, “You haven’t changed a bit,” which is code for, “You miraculously haven’t gained weight and you still look young and beautiful!”  There are several of my good friends who actually did receive this very commendation that night – and totally deserved it!  (And I can’t hate them because they are beautiful and genuine on the inside, too!)

But why do we do that – insist that we shouldn’t ever age or show the natural consequences of our sun worship during those carefree childhood days; that men in their 50’s should still have a full head of hair, that women who have given birth multiple times and even at this age possibly already have gone through “the change” should still retain their high school slimness and tone?   

And how much longer do we have to do this?  Can we relax when we reach 60?  Is 70 the magic age where we can just “be” and contentedly look our age?  My beautiful 80-year-old Mom answered this question inadvertently this weekend when she was self-consciously trying to cover her “wrinkles,” as if she still shouldn’t be showing those evidences of age yet…. 



So as I drove along on historic red brick Camp Bowie Boulevard on my way to the reunion site, I reflected about this phenomenon.   But I realized a lot of life happens in 35 years!  That is longer than we were ever IN school!  At our particular reunion there were already widows and widowers, women who have survived breast cancer, both men and women who have endured divorces, death of a parent, career triumphs and failures, and then the whole timeline of those who already have grandkids all the way to those who never married and never had any children. 

And so…..Saturday night at the Capital Bar in Fort Worth “Cowtown” Texas, the AHHS Bicentennial Seniors of ’76 mingled and melted together into a pleasant community of 50-ish adults, accepting one another, visiting with and enjoying each other, standing together on the foundation of shared roots.  People crossed the lines of the 1970’s cliques and friendship groups and greeted each other and got reacquainted (or actually met for the first time). 

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  ~  1 Peter 3:8

One couple, Elizabeth and Joel, had just last weekend attended the reunion of rival Paschal High School, as Joel is an alum from that school.  That event was a shared spread of seniors from five years, 1973-1977.   Some of our Heights group had discussed how it might be fun to do the same, and just go ahead and meet every year rather than only on the monumental landmark years.  

Later Sunday night back in Austin, as Gary and I watched the DVD of the movie Twister and enjoyed his Father’s Day grilled T-bone steak, I had a revelation – if we had Arlington Heights joint reunions that included 1973-1977, there is one prominent student who would be included in the invitation list…….BILL PAXTON!  Yes, I scanned this senior picture of his from my own freshman yearbook.  Bill, would you come?

Monday morning in Austin as I lay back doing abdominal crunches on my mat in Jazzercise, I looked up to the gym ceiling and there were still some mylar balloons floating which had escaped at a recent graduation party for some 2011 Seniors.  A new crop!  The thought hit me – one day they will have their 35^th reunion, too. 

I wonder if they will all fly in spaceships.  Most will have acquired a few wrinkles and extra pounds by then, too.  But if they accept each other as well as the AHHS Seniors of ’76 do, they will be just fine. 

“People change.  We get better as we get older.”    ~  Polka-Dot’s words to Birdie Calvert in the movie Hope Floats.

Go Yellow Jackets!

Open Hands

Today is my daughter Holly’s 23^rd birthday…..and Flag Day!  Her due date was Juneteenth (June 19^th) so she had a good chance of being born on a holiday, she just came five days early!

A few weeks ago I had asked her what she wanted to do this summer and she said, “Mom, let’s take a trip together!”  Well, that sounded wonderful….right up until the dollar signs started appearing before my eyes and the astronomical cost of traveling made my heart sink, considering my job-hunting woes.  But a few days ago I had a revelation, “We live in Austin, Texas for goodness sake – there are SO many fun things to do right here in town, and for a much more reasonable cost than traveling somewhere else!”  So for her birthday I had proposed that we have a whole day of “Austin Fun,” starting with kayaking on Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake).    She loved the idea so we met her brother Ryan down at the Zilker Park Boat Rentals this morning and got all launched in three little one-person orange kayaks. 

Yesterday in preparation for our big outing I had painfully withdrawn two $20 bills from our pitiful beleaguered checking account so I could be prepared to pay the “cash only” kayak rental fees.  And also, in order to be prepared for any contingency I had dug out my lovely and stylish (in the 80’s) hot pink “belly bag” so I would have a small washable purse-type container for the money, my camera, and any other necessities of kayaking.  When Ryan and Holly saw the belly bag they both looked at me like, “You aren’t going to WEAR that, are you?”  Of course not, I have a TINY bit of fashion sense, so I just hung it jauntily on my shoulder.  Who says I am not classy!

We pushed off from the shore at Zilker Park into the beautiful aquamarine water, lush green trees welcoming us along the way.  We dipped our bright yellow paddles in the water on one side of the kayak and then the other, magically propelling ourselves down the narrow channel toward the wide-open lake.  We could look down through the clean translucent water fed by nearby Barton Springs and see all the way to the bottom.  It was populated with many species of fish, prolific wispy lake ferns, and the occasional turtle swimming lazily along or sunning himself on a rock by the shore.  It was so peaceful.  So exhilarating. 

I took this photo of Holly ahead of me and my mood was jerked back to reality as I saw her gaily paddling away from me….paddling away….quite symbolic considering in just a few weeks she is moving 1,100 miles north to the Windy City to begin her Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Chicago.   

I thought I had already endured the “empty nest syndrome” five years ago when she left for her freshman year of college…..but living 15 minutes away at the University of Texas is not exactly the same magnitude!   I sometimes lately feel like throwing myself down on the floor and clamping my arms around her ankle in hopes that she will change her mind! 

I kept my morose thoughts to myself however, so we could continue enjoying her birthday kayaking adventure.  Periodically I balanced the dripping paddle across my lap and brought my camera out of the belly bag to capture the beauty of the Austin scenery.  It was so refreshing to celebrate and enjoy good times in the midst of the trying financial difficulties still nagging at my spirit. 

Our rental hour was ticking down so we reluctantly turned and paddled back to the boat launch.  I walked over to the little card table set up as the registration booth and began digging for the money.  To my horror, after virtually dumping out the entire contents of the silly belly bag, including emptying the handy outer Velcro pockets, I discovered that the two $20 bills were now nowhere to be found.  The truth finally sank in – they must have fallen out one of the times I had taken the camera out and then had blown off the back end of the kayak.  My forty dollars was floating (or sinking) somewhere out there on Lady Bird Lake!  Familiar anger and regret welled up in me again and my mind secretly thought, “Lord, seriously!  You KNOW what our financial situation is right now….HOW could you let this happen?”  I gazed helplessly at the pleasant young attendant who had witnessed my dilemma and she very kindly and graciously said, “Don’t worry about it.   Really.  Just consider it our gift for the birthday.”  Grace.   Such a beautiful gift.   

As Ryan and Holly and I continued the Austin-style birthday adventure by walking down Barton Springs Road to eat lunch at Austin Java (which mercifully takes ATM cards) my inner thoughts continued to churn about the lost money.  “I just can’t believe that happened!  Such a waste – and now of all times…..”  But then, as always, the gentle voice of God came comforting and teaching me through His Word.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”            ~  Hebrews 13:5

And also some other famous words exhorted my soul ~

Hold everything in your hands loosely, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.    ~  Corrie Ten Boom

Suddenly I realized that God was not just instructing me about the truly inconsequential $40, but also about my daughter – my baby, and the vise-grip my heart has on her, the utter dread of her imminent departure.  “You can trust Me with her,” the LORD whispered to my grieving spirit.  “I have guided her to this path and I will take care of her and bless her there,” He promised.  “But you need to open your hand.”   

So, I’m working on it.  Growth is a process.   But I did get to the point during lunch today where I stopped feeling the regret over losing the money.  I am holding on to it too tightly.  Our security must be in the LORD, not in our bank accounts (which can so suddenly take a turn for the worse, as we have experienced.....)

My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.  ~  Philippians 4:19

Maybe someone else paddling out there will see those two $20 bills floating along and find them – and that money will bless them and maybe even answer a prayer of theirs in a miraculous way!  And maybe I can get to this same point of fully releasing Holly to God’s tender care, as well. 

In the meantime, Happy Birthday Holly!  And Happy Flag Day!

What Are Your Ten Things?

We don’t have any grass in our front yard.   None.  Well, okay, we don’t have any LIVE grass.  Just dirt with little scattered patches of brown, crispy, scraggly, dead St. Augustine.  We did this on purpose, at first.  This was 25-year-old grass, after all.  And the poor pitiful stuff was showing its age, thinning, getting bald spots, and was just barely hanging on.   And then we not only had record-breaking cold this winter (in Austin!) but also the now nationally famous interminable stretch of drought conditions in Texas which is currently ranked two levels worse than “Severe,” those being “Extreme” and finally the worst, “Exceptional.”  (I think the level past “Extreme” should be “Brutal,” but that’s just me….)

But we had a plan.  We were excited.  We had sort of let the old grass go its own way of extinction this past winter because this spring we were going to bite the bullet and go for the whole works – tall pallets of brand new luxurious St. Augustine squares of grass and fresh nutrient-rich dirt – and presto, a gorgeous new lawn!  However, what we didn’t know, couldn’t have known, were the financial changes about to befall us, with each of us experiencing surprise extended hospital stays within a month of each other and then my job loss.  Suddenly spending thousands of dollars on GRASS just lost its appeal (and feasibility).  

So here we are. The homeowners in the neighborhood with the non-grass wilderness of a front yard – the pariah of Shady Hollow!  The Homeowners’ Association nightmare – I have been expecting the letter any day now admonishing us for breaking probably several of the strict covenants of lot maintenance and upkeep.  Plus, it’s just plain embarrassing. 

I rode my bicycle around the neighborhood last night and as I pulled out of our driveway, the dirt and crunchy brown clumps of dried grass that greeted me in our yard just reminded me again of our difficulties.  And each push of the bike pedals took me past other yards in stark contrast to ours, boasting rich verdant carpets of emerald grass, a virtual turf paradise, with sprinkler systems gaily spraying to ensure more green, more growth, more grass. 

“Lord, why?” were the words that escaped up from my soul.  And as I continued to ride along and think about this, God reminded me of my own words as a Mom to my children, “You can either compare UP or you can compare DOWN.”  Yes, I could ride around focusing on the other lush, well-manicured front yards and feel the stabs of remorse about our own….. OR I could be thankful that we HAVE a yard at all.  Millions of human beings in our world live in makeshift shelters pieced together with scraps of cardboard with dirt floors, or have had lovely homes reduced to rubble by being right in the path of a powerful tornado, or their homes flooded, or burned.    “Okay, Lord, I’m listening.” 

The next instruction that came to me was the memory of a 12-year-old little Holly succumbing to the ravages of middle school girl moods, being convinced that the world was coming to an end and nothing would be good ever again.  So what would I say to her when she felt that way?  “Holl, tell me ten things you are thankful for.”  “But Mom, I caaaaan’t think of aaaaaanything!”  (Is this how I sounded to God right about now?)  And the suggestion I always made to her in that moment came back to me, “Holl, okay, I understand.  But let’s just think about this.  How many legs do you have?”  “Two.”  So that would finally launch the list of ten things she realized she actually could be thankful for. 

So guess what, I started thinking of my “Ten Things” as I rode my bike further and further through our neighborhood last night, “two legs” being the obvious number one, seeing as I was pedaling my bike with them at the time.  “A nice bicycle.”   “A lovely June sunset coloring the clouds with soft shades of pink and orange, tinting the edges of the clouds with gray.”  And on and on.   Just the pure fact that I was riding a bicycle at all when just a mere four months ago I was doing well if I could shuffle the length of a few houses down the sidewalk. 

So what do we do when we are struggling in our current circumstances?  When it feels like God is even being slow to answer our prayers for relief?  Can we give thanks anyway?  Can we continue to trust Him?

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

The Sovereign LORD is my strength.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer.  He enables me to go on the heights.        ~ Habakkuk 3:17-19

So as I rode on in the soft twilight, my dry, parched soul which strangely resembled our front yard began to feel soothed.  I felt God say deep within me, “You can trust Me.  It is going to be okay.  See…..”  And I looked ahead and there were five deer taking timid steps out of the woods just in perfect timing for me to see them.  It was glorious.  It was God’s gift of reassurance.

So, we don’t have any grass in our front yard right now and I still haven’t found another job yet.  Are you struggling with trying circumstances in your life, too?   What does God want us to do?

Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  (emphasis mine)      ~  Philippians 4:6-7

I pray God’s peace to guard your heart today, too.  Even before your struggles are solved.  Even in the midst of your crisis or time of drought.  Here is another promise from Him to us  ~

The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.    ~  Isaiah 58:11

Yeah, It's For Real!

I just finished reading a wonderful book, Heaven Is For Real  by Todd Burpo about his 3-year-old son Colton who during a life-threatening surgery for a burst appendix took a trip to heaven and came back to tell us all about it.  For real!  Colton was able to describe to his parents in detail what they were doing and where they were in the hospital while his surgery was taking place, something he never could have known outside of having an out-of-body spiritual experience.  He also recognized in a photo his great-grandfather whom he had never seen in life but insisted that he met and got to know in heaven.  The book is packed with amazing and fascinating eye-witness accounts told by this young boy in his childlike, honest and straightforward viewpoint.   He even gives clear descriptions of actually meeting God, “He’s really, really BIG!” and Jesus, the angels, and even other family members who had already died on earth but were there to greet him.   
This special little boy also described something else very interesting that he saw in his experience of visiting that angelic place.  He specifically depicts that all the people in heaven have “a light above their head.”   Colton’s preschool vocabulary at the time did not include the word “halo” yet but he was adamant about this heavenly detail.   Wow.  So inspiring!

And see, the funny thing is, have you ever noticed that God has you read something in the exact timing that you need it?  I have had that book since the middle of April but just now took the time to read it Memorial weekend.  God knew it was exactly the kind of encouragement I would need right now in the midst of this ongoing fear looming over our finances and my job searching.  And this journey has included not only those outward struggles but, as I described in the previous story about The Thief, the actual outright spiritual attack that can be waged against us, especially when we are vulnerable, an assault that I have felt personally on and off these last weeks since losing my job.    

So I woke up this Wednesday feeling particularly discouraged and battle-scarred from fending off the waves of anxiousness and powerlessness over this siege of not finding a job.  But the words to this old hymn flowed into my mind like the aroma of fresh coffee brewing and soothed my soul ~

All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!

"Let angels prostrate fall....."  I should try that.  So I actually laid down flat on my bedroom rug (not all that comfortable a position anymore) but still, actually a very humbling and healing way to pray, I discovered.  I said things like, "God please help me.  I really need you right now.  Please give me your encouragement -- give me a touch from you."

I got up feeling the burden having lifted a little so I got ready and went to Jazzercise class.  I was exercising in the back row, as is my habit, with the glass doors to the gym behind me, the morning sunlight cascading through the doorway.  My mind wandered back to the images of heaven I had read about in the little book when suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by an exclamation from Deanna, the Jazzercise instructor, who was in the middle of leading a roomful of ladies in a lively aerobics routine.  "ELLEN!  YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE A HALO OVER YOUR HEAD!"

 
Coincidence?  No way.  Did I truly have a halo over my head?  No, the light from the doorway was casting a glow.  But the fact that she said that to me from the stage, in front of an entire Jazzercise class full of other ladies, when I had JUST read that book and then JUST asked God for encouragement....

I smiled throughout the rest of the class, marveling at a God who gives a little boy a glimpse of eternity, and who gave me yet another direct example of His ability to weave every detail together into a message of His love and power.

For God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.              ~  Romans 8:28