Page Two

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.