Cowboy Tempers

When I put my bike back together, filled the oil and gas tank and got on the road I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. What a blessing it is to feel this synchronicity, to feel like both feet are planted firmly- even if the ground is unfamiliar, something feels right about it all. The sun, the strange blandness of the landscape (compared to the Northwest), the small empty (for now) campus and the spunk of the city all have made this transition easy. While walking through my North Austin neighborhood I was happy to find familiar plants that I grew to knew very well while working in Arizona, but most of the trees, shrubs and what few flowers there are, look thirsty and are struggling to survive in this heat.
So far, my theory is that the heat here effects people's tempers. People seem to be on the brink of violence here- like aggression is just under the surface ready to boil over. Downtown people like to yell at bikers and other cars. Besides the general bad driving in these parts, people are aggressive on the roads. I also witnesses a little of this aggression last night when I went to a roller derby match. Now, I am attracted to roller derby for it's playful aggression- but the girls down here are fighters compared to the roller derby in the Northwest! There were several times the girls were on the ground beating each other! I suppose this could all be part of the show, but the girls were all rowdier than the matches I had watched in the cool northwest air.
The other night I walked to the food co-op to inquire about membership. Every co-op I had been a member at before required a time commitment to become a member. When I went to purchase my refreshing coconut water and inquired about membership the cashier said "We can't do working memberships here; This is TEXAS, we have rules against that kind of thing here". Although he was kidding about the rules, I left disappointed and decided I would rather not pay for a membership. I continued on my walk down Guadalupe St. and stopped in store and as I was turning to leave there were two bicyclists fighting on the ground right outside the door! One was using his u-lock to beat the other guy over the head. Before the cops were even called, the fighters were off on a bike chase up Guadalupe. I think it must be the heat and the cowboy boots clicking around that keeps everyone so edgy.