Antone's Nightclub
Changes Often Prove Permanent
RECEIVED Thu., May 11, 2006
Dear Editor,
Recently, for my husband's birthday, I gave him a copy of the book Austin, Texas Then and Now by local resident Jeffrey Kerr. It is filled with historical photos of Austin landmarks and how they appear today. He read it cover to cover one evening, then sat, looking thoroughly depressed. I asked him what was wrong. "They can't leave anything alone,” he said. Read the book. You'll see. (It really is a great book.)
Did you know that there was another spring right here in the center of town? Seider spring. It was a popular destination for swimming, picnicking, and relaxing by the water's edge. Sound familiar? All that is left of it today is a small trickle. It is paved over and a nondescript, corporate grocery store sits on top. When I thought about the area I wondered if the road dipped right there on 35th Street because there used to be water below it.
If AMD is allowed to build on the Barton Springs Watershed it will simply continue the process that turned Seider spring into asphalt and a historical marker instead of a cool body of water. Make no mistake. They really can't leave anything alone. Once we let one corporation bend the rules, they'll push the door wide open, and we'll never be able to close it again. It might not happen the year after they build it or even several years later. But it will happen. And maybe when my small children grow to be teenagers they'll tell us that the water at Barton Springs isn't safe to swim in anymore. And maybe by the time they are adults, with children of their own, Barton Springs will be a curious dip in the road that cars zoom over, unaware of the beauty that once lay beneath.
And maybe, right there on top of the deep end, a nondescript corporate grocery store will stand, exactly in the spot of the diving board where my son once stood.
As Kerr says in his book about our town, "The changes we impose often prove to be permanent."
Recently, for my husband's birthday, I gave him a copy of the book Austin, Texas Then and Now by local resident Jeffrey Kerr. It is filled with historical photos of Austin landmarks and how they appear today. He read it cover to cover one evening, then sat, looking thoroughly depressed. I asked him what was wrong. "They can't leave anything alone,” he said. Read the book. You'll see. (It really is a great book.)
Did you know that there was another spring right here in the center of town? Seider spring. It was a popular destination for swimming, picnicking, and relaxing by the water's edge. Sound familiar? All that is left of it today is a small trickle. It is paved over and a nondescript, corporate grocery store sits on top. When I thought about the area I wondered if the road dipped right there on 35th Street because there used to be water below it.
If AMD is allowed to build on the Barton Springs Watershed it will simply continue the process that turned Seider spring into asphalt and a historical marker instead of a cool body of water. Make no mistake. They really can't leave anything alone. Once we let one corporation bend the rules, they'll push the door wide open, and we'll never be able to close it again. It might not happen the year after they build it or even several years later. But it will happen. And maybe when my small children grow to be teenagers they'll tell us that the water at Barton Springs isn't safe to swim in anymore. And maybe by the time they are adults, with children of their own, Barton Springs will be a curious dip in the road that cars zoom over, unaware of the beauty that once lay beneath.
And maybe, right there on top of the deep end, a nondescript corporate grocery store will stand, exactly in the spot of the diving board where my son once stood.
As Kerr says in his book about our town, "The changes we impose often prove to be permanent."
Sincerely,
Lizzie Martinez
Lizzie Martinez
[Editor's note: As its SOS sponsors acknowledge, Prop. 2 will have no legal effect on AMD's decision to build on the watershed. They are hoping the public pressure represented by the vote will persuade the company to rescind its plans.]