Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Beverly Veltman's avatar

Arrived in 1973, got told I should have been here in the '60's, it was better. Actually I was here for a very short time in 1965 and wished I would have stayed. But I found out that people have been saying "you should have been here 10 years ago....." in every decade since the cattle corals existed behind Scholz's Beer Garden. Austin has been changing but so have we. You will find that the nostalgia for particular times in Austin seems to always coincide with the era of the most happiness in the life of the speaker (person being sad about the loss). We all want to be young again. Nostalgia for the "good old days" is getting to be an internet industry these days - have you seen the number of sites that have cropped up sharing pictures and memories of days gone by? "That's Old Austin.. Remember?" is not the only one, every middle sized town and every state has one. My feed is full of opportunities to share and to remember - history, beautiful landscapes, memories of places I have been, lived in, have family members living (or dying in, I dabble in genealogy). I am in my 80's now and as concerned about change as anybody else in my age group. But I also remember the short sightedness of the "No Growth" activists, heck I was one of them. The future is going to happen whether we like it or not and the future will always be change. All I am saying is "pick your battles, people" and enjoy the present as much as you are able and be kind, even in a traffic jam.

Expand full comment
riley's avatar

i'm a lifelong Austinite (born in 90s) and think this piece is amazing. A thoughtful, kind-hearted, helpful rebuttal to a largely confusing and confused New Yorker piece. thank you for it, and well done!

Expand full comment
24 more comments...

No posts