THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR … Put your foot into a piece of art at Heritage Boot (117 W. Eighth, between Congress and Colorado, 326-8577), where owners Jerry and Patti Ryan offer “vintage boots made fresh daily.” Says Jerry: “I am remaking the classics from the golden age of boot-making [1940-1965]. The sought-after used/vintage boots are selling for $300 to $400, but I make a full handmade boot, starting at around $300.” Wearing boots such as these makes you stand tall and walk like you mean it, but it also pays homage to Texas history. Jerry knows that very well and says: “Being a curator of the past, I am having a great time making custom designs, borrowing from the past, and putting my own spin on it. Retro-modern at its best!” Dyed, stitched, quilted, or fringed, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
BIKES REVISITED I was riveted by the story from last Saturday’s Seattle Times (“Critical Mass riders injure driver in Capitol Hill altercation,” July 26) in which approximately 100 members of Critical Mass surrounded and detained a couple trying to pull out of a parking space on Capitol Hill. The cyclists, according to the story, were sitting and banging on the car, terrifying the couple who, while attempting to maneuver their vehicle out of the melee, accidentally bumped a bicycle, sending the riders into throngs of misplaced rage. The riders “bashed up the Subaru, shattering the windshield and rear window.” Trying to escape, the driver hit another bicycle in the group but continued for a block until the couple was once again apprehended by the group. One cyclist punched the driver through the open window while another slashed his tires. When the driver got out of his car, he was hit in the head, causing a large gash. Police arrived and dispersed the crowd, taking two men in their early 20s into custody. This really underscores the ugly reality that most of our streets and roadways are not designed for both bicycle and automobile use. Critical Mass demonstrations do not encourage the sharing of the road but recall the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power and the methods it employed to bring attention to the AIDS crisis. I do understand the need for the riders to demonstrate in an effective manner. I, too, want to see bikes have their own lanes. Or better yet, why can’t they just have their own area to ride in, sort of like a dog park? It could be full of obstacles that they can zigzag in and out of, pulling their daredevil stunts with one another. They could even demonstrate against one another, blocking paths while waving and grinning. Of course, there would be “rules” posted, but no one will really follow them. But as surely as bicyclists demand their piece of the road, how long will it be before skateboarders demand their slice of the action, too? Can’t you just see it? A showdown on the Ann Richards Bridge in which Critical Mass bicyclists encounter a renegade band of hostile skateboarders? Everybody wants their rights to fly about the city in their own preferred manners, but there’s also a point at which the freedoms demanded by some take away from the freedoms of others. Personally, I prefer a car (and a driver, if you must know) so that I have to spend as little time navigating Austin’s woefully designed streets as possible. Fortunately, there are roads for this. But when those roads are clogged with 100 rabid bicyclists pedaling at a leisurely, fun-loving pace during rush-hour traffic, I can only ask myself, “What if I were trying to get to the hospital?” Or better yet, to address another group whose rights are severely limited, “What if I had a child who had to get to the hospital?” I don’t hate bicycles or bicyclists. Nor am I a psychopath behind the wheel with mass homicidal tendencies toward bicycles. Believe it or not, I even used to own a bicycle … when I was a child.
LONG HELP To raise money to offset rental fees for small and emerging arts groups, the Long Center‘s Catalyst Eight group presents its third anniversary Bash this Friday, Aug. 1, 7pm-12mid. All info can be found at www.catalyst-8.com.
This article appears in August 1 • 2008.