From London to Austin
If I were independently wealthy, and I could have homes in every state, I would travel to Texas and seek out a place to live in Austin. The first people I ever knew who lived in Austin, I met in London. The long-term friendships that began in that two thousand year old city drew me into a one hundred and sixty four year old state I’d only driven straight through before, and directly into a city that was itself established in 1839, only about six years older than the Lone Star State itself. Over the years, I’ve found myself staying at the homes of friends or in one of the many hotels Austin keeps ready for travelers.
Of the three friends I had at the time, only one has moved on to another state. The other two have found homes in a city that seems to welcome everyone, holding down jobs as diverse as teaching theater history and managing an office for a green company. I’ve visited Austin nearly ten times, a record for a city I’ve never lived in, and each time I’ve gone, I’ve found something unexpected, something I didn’t know was there. Just recently, I learned that this city was originally known as Waterloo, and purchased for the Republic of Texas in 1839, and renamed Austin after Stephen F. Austin. A year later, there was 856 people in the city; however, when the capital moved temporarily to Houston in 1842, the city’s population fell under two hundred. However, in 1845, Texas became a part of the United States and Austin, a year later, became a capital city again on February 19th.
The story about Waterloo created another connection for me between my first meeting of my future Austin friends in London. While in Austin, visiting my friends, I’d always noted a store called Waterloo Records, and I’d always associated it with London, because it used as its symbol London’s Underground transport logo for Waterloo Station. I always knew they were commenting on the original victorious battle for the British against Napoleon and the London Transport, but until now I didn’t realize that they were also talking about Austin’s origins.