LE$$ IS MORE: Once it was strictly a Hallmark deal – manufactured
sentiment,
yours for two bits, a gimmick to tide retailers through the slow
stretch before
the grad-and-wedding season. Now it’s a Consumer High Holy Day, with
weeks of
buildup, pounds of Sunday ad inserts, glossy promptings for every price
range.
Guilt or gilt: how much to show your love?
We’re talking about Mother’s Day, of course. And while you
can’t turn
it off, you can at least tone it down… which brings us to our plug
for
Pueblo to People.
Unlike many of your slimy neighborhood importers, PtP is a
nonprofit
trade group that runs on a supremely radical notion: paying Third World
workers
a living wage for the stuff they produce. Though most of its business
is
catalog orders, the Houston-based outfit hits town twice a year for a
trunk
sale to benefit the local American Friends Service Committee,
specifically its Latin American and Caribbean Education
Project.
Well, they’re sweet, but they’re not dumb. So it’s probably
no
coincidence that this year’s Spring Sale falls on Mother’s Day
weekend
(Saturday-Sunday, May 13-14, 9am-5pm, at 227 Congress). For two days,
you can
stock up on handmade Guatemalan clothing, gorgeous woven bags, palm
leaf hats
from Honduras, intricate Peruvian jewelry, wild Brazil nuts fresh from
the
Amazon rain forest, plus a ton of other stuff that’ll have mom (you?)
in a
shopper’s swoon.
And while she’s oohing and ahhing, you can tell her what else her
gift is good
for: clothes on the back, food on the table, hope in the heart where
once there
was none. If that sounds like a Hallmark card, tough. She’ll be proud
to know
what a decent kid you turned out to be.
GUYS NAMED SQUID LOVE THEIR MOTHERS,
TOO: In
more mom news, Hole in the Wall hosts its second annual Benefit for
the
Multiple Sclerosis Society on Monday (May 15, 7pm, 2538 Guadalupe).
Put
together by longtime Hole employee Squid, the show’s a tribute to his
own
mother, the late Frances R. Bolling, who waged a courageous battle
against MS
for years.
The lineup includes Horse Wreck, Poontwang, Sleestacks, Terraplanes, Michael Fracasso, Javelin
Boot, Wannabes, and Buick MacKane. Your five-buck
door
donation (more if you can handle it) goes to the Central Texas Area
MS
Society in Mrs. Bolling’s memory.
MOMS IN STIRRUPS: One last maternal
note…
Planned Parenthood is now scheduling appointments for Healthy
Moms
Day (Saturday, May 20, at Planned Parenthood centers in Austin and
Round
Rock). On that day, any woman accompanied by her son or daughter will
receive a
free health screening, including a Pap smear and breast and pelvic
exams.
Normally, this would run you over $50 (not counting the kids’ stuff,
which’ll
include balloons, face painting, and Mother’s Day card-making). An
appointment
is a must; to schedule yours, call 1-800-PLAN.
CUANTO ES? Casa Marianella throws a
take-no-prisoners Garage Sale this Saturday (May 13, 8am-4pm,
United
Methodist Church of Govalle, 831 Springdale, off E. Seventh). It’s all
cheap
and it’s all gotta go, which translates to �ltimo bargains for
you. Proceeds benefit the Casa, a shelter for Spanish-speaking homeless
people.
THAT’SDEAR SCUMBAG: The next
monthly
meeting of the Texas Abortion Rights Action League is slated for
Wednesday, May 17, 7pm, at the Carver Library, 1161 Angelina. On
the
agenda: tracking the progress of pro-choice and anti-choice bills in
the Texas
Lege, local volunteer activities, and guidelines for writing effective
letters
to newspaper editors. Feel free to practice on ours.
REALLY SCARY PEN PALS: Speaking of
mail,
Amnesty International will hold its regular letter-writing
confab this
Sunday (May 14, 4-6pm, at the Flightpath Coffeehouse, 5011 Duval). BYO
pen,
paper, and stamps. They’ll supply the horror stories.
GO FOR THE GREEN: The city
environmental
department is now accepting nominees for its 1995 Environmental
Awareness Awards. Categories include individual, community group or
nonprofit organization, school or education program, private
enterprise, and
governmental program. For a nomination form, call Jeanine Dailey at
499-6338; completed forms must be returned no later than 4pm,
Friday,
May 26.
OUTGOING TUNA: Saturday, May 13, is
the
annual Letter Carriers Food Drive, so make a note now to
toss a
couple of cans in your mailbox Friday night. It’s got to be
store-bought and
it’s got to be nonperishable; beyond that, the choice is yours. The
food bank
gets the goods, the carrier gets the hernia, and you get another
Victoria’s
Secret catalog. Heckuva a deal, no?
Please send items to “Public Notice,” The Austin
Chronicle, P0
Box 49066, Austin,TX 78765. Info must be received by the Thursday
prior to
publication. Phone calls have a .01% chance of being returned.
This article appears in May 12 • 1995 and May 12 • 1995 (Cover).