It used to be that here in Austin (and doesn’t that phrase terrify most
ordinary readers) summers were slow. When the city was smaller, students constituted a
bigger percentage of the population so when the University slowed down for the
summer, so did Austin. Baking in the heat, the air semi-liquid, Austin really became a
Southern town, easy and slow-moving. Not much traffic, and the whole town running at a
slower pace. Although it was terrible for business (it used to be really hard to
sell ads in the summer) it was great for the staff because it created a calm quiet
period before the onslaught of the fall.
Some of this was because back in the early Eighties our offices used to be
across the street from ACC’s Rio Grande campus and then for a long period we were
camped on 28th and Nueces streets by UT. Thus, the ebb and flow of student life
affected us more immediately. In the summer, parking suddenly became available; in the
summer, you started drinking in the middle of the afternoon. Still, it wasn’t just
the University area; the student/faculty/staff exodus wrung the city dry. Businesses slowed,
traffic — never very heavy — became even lighter.
Now, of course, as Austin races into its own future, evolving and changing
dramatically along the way, the exodus of a few thousand students barely affects the
campus area, much less the city. Now, on Sundays, traffic around town is heavier than it
used to be on workdays. Things have changed here at the Chronicle with the
summer slow-down not being very slow anymore. Ahhh… the moaning and
breast-beating, it does go on.
The saving grace of summer is swimming. My son and I are regulars at
several different municipal pools. Oddly, the pool season, geared more to the school year than
the weather, comes to an abrupt end in early August. This will leave us running
through water sprinklers for the next few weeks.
Currently, we are working on the “Best of Austin” issue (to be
published in September). A small army of interns lead by Kate Messer are tabulating all
the readers’ votes and working on coordinating the Chronicle staff
choices. Look for a mammoth “Best of Austin” issue.
In late August, the Chronicle will host its annual Hot Sauce
Contest and Festival, to be held Sunday, August 24 this year at Waterloo Park. It is
free, there will be gallons of hot sauce to sample as well as food and beverages for sale
and who knows what else. Los Pinkys and Don Walser will entertain. More details
soon.
16 years ago this September, we started The Austin Chronicle. Look
for our annual anniversary party at Laguna Gloria in September.
This article appears in August 1 • 1997 and August 1 • 1997 (Cover).