After a Fashion

Miz Liz: ... hopped up on football as much as any 19-year-old freshman boy (Photo By Robert Nash)

SPORTSFANS I was up late working, this relatively balmy January night, and had all my doors open. It happened to be the night of the Rose Bowl (one of the very best times to grocery shop), and the cool breeze was punctuated by the muffled cheer of football parties all across the area. It had been surprisingly quiet, with a few bursts of excitement, but over a short period of time, it evolved into a full-blown frenzy, with screaming and cheering coming from every direction. Being as excited over football as I am over stain removal, I clucked to myself about rabid sports fans and went about my work. As the noise mounted and the walls shook, I knew UT must have been doing well. I became fascinated by the crowd's responses, as they echoed around my complex. Even I, in my own way, got caught up in the spirit of it. Imagine. When the game ended, the city erupted into one huge vocal orgasm that lasted for hours. It was well past 3am when the honking and screaming from Sixth Street died down. But even in my sports-challenged existence, I was proud. My publicist friend Robert Nash called me a couple of days later – he's hardly a football fan either, but he told me how he'd been glued to the game, mesmerized by the poetic beauty of Vince Young's plays. He told of hooting and hollering afterward over the phone with Mme. Liz Carpenter. "She was as hopped up on football as much as any 19-year-old freshman boy," said Nash. "She watched the entire game." The next day Nash was dispatched to pick up a UT T-shirt for Liz and take her to pay homage at the orange tower blazing with the "#1." Surrounded by reporters, the grand old dame recalled the specifics of an incredibly exciting game she'd seen while attending UT back in 1941 when her friend Jack Crain ran 72 yards for a touchdown. "It was the most exciting game I'd ever seen," said Carpenter. "Until now."

CAFE SOCIETY It was the second time I'd been to Taverna. I brought Mark Sullivan and Alfred Robinson this time and loved it again – the food, the attentive but unobtrusive service, and the table-hopping. We ran into all sorts of people we know. Cindy Morgan dropped by for a martini; we chatted up Jack and Carla McDonald, as well as Taylor Andrews and David Price… I had a great dinner at Suzi's with the Saxon Pub's David Cotton, Threadgill's Eddie Wilson (who has spent months tirelessly working to feed Katrina victims in Louisiana), and Rhino Records' Karen LeBlanc, before retiring to the Saxon to see the wonderful Carolyn Wonderland… It wasn't until literally the last minute that I decided to go out at all for New Year's Eve; I had half a dozen very tempting invitations, but I declined them all and dragged myself over to Mark Ashby's house and gossiped and giggled with the likes of Joel Mozersky and Brian and Barbara Frisbie, among a handful of close friends. I entertained by dispensing the Stephen Moser Starter Kit to my friends – a gift bag complete with sunglasses, folding fan, bottle of fragrance, and, of course, a signature brooch. Sister Margaret and I ran into Msr. Cotton and KXAN's Jim Spencer at Maudie's on South Lamar, before we headed up to the Cotton Club, I mean the Saxon Pub, to see the elegant Arthur Brown perform. With my gigantic new Gucci sunglasses intact, David had to steer me through the crowd. It was glamorous, and I felt like a portly Ava Gardner being ushered to her ringside seat at the Mocambo in Hollywood.

ATTENTION! Get yourself to Houston tonight, Thursday, Jan. 12, for the glamorous Carolyn Farb's benefit for our next governor, Kinky Friedman. Mme. Farb opens her fabled River Oaks home to guests (tickets begin at $500) for performances by Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver, and others. More info can be found at www.kinkyfriedman.com… We know you've been waiting, and it's time to start planning that sexy outfit you've been dying to wear in public. ArtErotica 2006 is coming! This is the fourth annual Octopus Club Erotic Art Auction & Dessert Party (Saturday, Feb. 25, 9pm-12mid). All proceeds benefit the Austin AIDS Emergency Fund. The Octopus Club is looking for donations of erotic art for its silent auction. Have your secret passion displayed for all eyes to see and give to a very worthy charity at the same time. See www.octopusclub.org for further details.