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We (mostly I) got a little Austin history today. First – and quickest – The University of Austin Tower, from a distance. This is the location of a deadly mass shooting in 1966 when Charles Whitman (after killing mother and wife the night before) took to the top of the tower and opened fire. He killed 15 people and injured 31. It was the most deadly mass shooting for 18 years. Second – Juneteenth, the celebration and anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It began in Galveston but I recently learned that June 19 1865 reflects the date that federal troops enforced the emancipation in Texas. Unfortunately the actual Emancipation happened in 1862. That’s a three year difference?!
Anyway – I happened to walk by “the” view of the tower today. Yesterday Kate and I stopped by the Austin Capitol and read about the history of the emancipation; they recognize that it wasn’t timely but didn’t specify. Today I headed to a Juneteenth celebration. It was festive and full. I had no idea what to expect. In fact I was late to the party and expected nothing. It was nice to see police playing a role (handing out candy) in the parade. Strange to see these days coming from the Twin Cities.
Then I met up with the girls at Barton Springs Pool. It’s a strange mix of pool/river/cold spring. Luckily I walked there and realized that only part of the river is the pool, which means you have to pay and (more importantly) wait in line to visit. So once the girls got there we walked down river and they took a dip. They seemed to have a great time. I did dip a toe.
After the swim, we went to Barton Springs Picnic, a food truck park. We were hot and hungry and crabby when we got there. We all decided before we left that none of us was even one little bit sad with our choices. SO good. Then we stopped by the Umlauf Sculpture Garden on the way home. (Pro Tip: not all sculpture gardens are free.)
Then at night, some of use went to the Mayfield Park, which was so much fun. They have peacocks wandering about. And we saw one in full plumage!! I can only imagine what Kate will paint after that.
We went to a Juneteenth celebration in in a park (near some bars) and saw a really fantastic singer, Dionysus. He was sitting in a battered chair, sometimes reading the lyrics off his phone and still had an amazing stage presence. Finally at night I talked the older girls into meeting me at C-Boy’s Heart and Soul where we saw Kimmie Vaugh and they talked me into going to what they called “Bourbon St of Austin” to see a Johnny Depp lookalike band. A good time was had by all!!
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