In one of those weird and wonderful South Austin moments of inarticulate clarity,
several hundred residents, musicians, and politicians of all stripes,
gathered at the Broken Spoke on October 14th for a raucus sort of non-demoninational
affirmation.
Under the unifying banner of getting out the vote and empowering Austin neighborhoods to preserve an endangered Austin way of life, these well-placarded souls sang, chanted, and marched all of three blocks from the Wells Fargo bank parking lot on South Lamar, to the landmark Broken Spoke dance hall and beer joint.
There, they settled down to an afternoon of beer drinking, two-stepping, speechifying, ugly pickup and custom car oggling, and live music from some of Austin's finest local talents.
The brain child of South
Austin Culture Club founder and Bouldin Creek activist Jack Speer,
along with his wife and business partner Carol Kallendorf,
the march was about having fun and being serious, about hon
oring diversity,
and keeping in touch with what makes Austin unique.
Austin American Statesman columnist John Kelso, who originally didn't quite "get" the concept of the march, aquiesced to serving as Grand Marshall and Master of Ceremonies. In the following morning's daily, he wrote about the event with a buoyant spirit reflective of the day's activities.
Bouldin Creek's own virtuoso troubador Ronnie Dittmar coralled the musicians roster, which included Gina Lee and Her Texas Three, Blue Diamond Shine, Los Pinkys, Eric Hisaw, Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones, High Horse, The South Austin Gospel Choir, Laurie Bridwell Boedee, Jeane Burks, and On The Air.
Politicians who stumped at the Spoke included: Demitri Anastasiadis,
Raul Alvarez, Darlene Byrne, Gary Dugger, Ronnie Earle, Woody Edmiston,
Margo Frasier, Jackie Goodman, Grant Goodwin, Donna Howard, Karrie Key,
Julie Kocurek, Drew McAngus, Shane Phelps, Gisela Triana and several others.
Despite its lowbrow moniker, one astute pol noted that the event was
designed to bring out the best of the bubba in all of us. "It's not
about having your pickup truck up on blocks in your front yard. We're beyond
that." he said, "It's about helping your brother-in-law get his
pickup down off the blocks and getting it running again--even if you don't
like your brother-in-law."
As organizer Jack Speer noted, the event was perhaps epitomized when a pro-light rail participant and anti-light rail participant found themselves holding hands and sharing in a lusty rendition of "Let The Circle Be Unbroken," led by the tie-dyed, wildly engaging South Austin Gospel Choir.
BCNA President Gary Hyatt accepted a plaque, hand-designed by neighbor Shana Norton, on a hubcap from the collection of South Austin eccentric Hubcap Annie. The commemorative cap conferred bragging rights for registering the most new voters among South Austin neighborhoods.
The moral of the melee, and the message Speer intoned to anyone who'd listen (and several local news crews did): "If you want to keep South Austin and the South Austin state of mind alive, then be sure to VOTE on NOV 7."