Public Notice

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Big Fan of Fans

The soft whhhhrrrrrrr of the blades breaks the otherwise peaceful hush as the crickets and lizards wrap up their serenade for another night. The circular mechanical sound is as summer as ice cubes clinking in a glass or giggling wee ones cannonballing big splooshy splashes at Barton Springs. We live in the South, and it's hot as hell. This year we've been blessed with what in recent memory has become a not-so-common thing: a relatively mild summer. Nevertheless, most of us have switched over to AC for the remainder of the season, looking forward to the day when we can again open up the windows and the monthly utility bill with a little less trepidation.

Now we don't have to get all guilt-addled in reminding you that some folks don't even have that luxury. You know it. We know it. But if you've gone a night or two in this Texas heat without the AC, you also know what a subtle confined torture it is. Fans are a fine respite, as often what's needed is just a li'l push of the stiflingly still air that drapes the night. Good thing that Family Eldercare thinks about these things and hosts their annual Summer Fan Drive when the temperature soars. This is the 11th year that the organization has done this. Last year they distributed more than 3,000 fans to folks in need. Older Texans, especially, are vulnerable in the heat, and often don't have the resources to get out and deal with the situation. The fan drive relies entirely on Donations of Money, Fans, and Volunteer Time from local folks like you. Plus, volunteers can check out some of FE's other terrific programs for seniors, like Eloise's House for folks with memory loss or Alzheimer's, or the Aging in Place money management assistance program. If you have a fan you'd like to donate, you can stop by the Family Eldercare complex at 2210 Hancock, off Burnet, Monday-Friday. If you'd like to send a tax-deductible contribution, write to them at the above address, ZIP code 78756, or give online. www.familyeldercare.org or 459-4FAN.

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Getcher Granny Runnin'

Spare Granny or Gramps the inadvertent chiseled abs and "perfect-V" torso (unless of course, that's what they are striving to achieve) that comes with rolling a manual wheelchair. Miracle on Wheels and Senior Wheels Inc. make Power (electric) Wheelchairs available to nonambulatory seniors usually at no out-of-pocket expense. The qualifications are listed on the Web site (in certain instances, for example, those younger than seniors may qualify. Those whippersnappers). www.durablemedical.com or 800/749-8778.

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Lights, Grrls, Action

Whatever that conjures up for you ... fine. It got you here. But if it wasn't empowered young women manifesting art as process, art as therapy, art as art ... well, playboy, then maybe it's back to the Yellow Rose for you. The wild sisters of the Rude Mechanicals and their pals at the University of Texas are at it again. Last year, they presented "Actual Lives," personal writings of young women (in session one) and folks with disabilities (in a second session) presented publicly in a variety of forms: dance, theatre, poetry. The "work" on the summer project takes place over several weeks, wherein local performance art-types, writers, filmmakers and the like coach the young women in the fine art of personal essay writing and then bring it to life. This time out, it's the Grrl Action Project 2001 and it happens this weekend, Friday-Saturday, June 29-30, 8pm at the Utopia Theater on the UT campus. Admission is free. And this all, of course, brings up a tender topic: Where are the kick-ass men who will put together something like this for boys, who, dare we say, need it as much as these empowered sisters? Whatever the case, do take advantage of the free admission to see some cutting-edge Austin theatre. Do we have to say, "Bring the kids"? 894-7334.