AAA

Oh Montana, give this child a home
Give him the love of a good family and a woman of his own
Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes
Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies

So go the words of the great psalmist John Denver.

I just spent four days in Bozeman, Montana, and I must say, it wasn't enough. Apart from the fact that it was too short of a visit with my wife and daughter, who are on a two-week buying trip, I am also reeling from the aborted immersion into miles and miles of rolling hills of undulating grass, technicolor flowers everywhere I looked, snowy mountains on all sides, and temperatures in the low 80s. The almost-daily afternoon cloudbursts, stunning sunsets, and great food didn't hurt, either, and needless to say, my return home to Austin was certainly rife with mixed emotions.

However, I am choosing this day to serve the emotions of gratefulness for the home I have and offer up my thanks to the cosmos for the following AAAs (Amazing Austin Aspects):

The Porch

Our Own Little Bayou Slice of Tejas

I love our porch. The Porch. At least to us, it is. The great thing about a great porch is that anyone can make any porch great. These are abundant here. Ours has plenty of room, chimineas, cheesy paper lanterns and Christmas lights, quirky knick-knacks, a couch, a hammock, and even a record player. Let's not forget the washer and dryer... they make the whole porch vibrate when they're goin. We've got a whole waiting list of people who want to come do laundry here.

Even The End of The Porch is Awesome

Sure, if we were living in another city, in another state, or even country, we could have a great porch there. But this one happens to be here, now, and it is regularly populated by what really makes The Porch amazing:

Our Peeps

Yeah, we have found some good ones here. All creative, all talented, all loving. Our peeps.

Hoping This Will Entice Some To Return...

The Baddest of the Baddest

SoCo Sisters

E Baby!

Mama T

Rocker Dads Unite. And Get Drunk.

No, Seriously, We Put the "Chill" in Achilles

We Might Have Eaten Too Much

Pretty Sure We'd Be Lost Without This One

Alright, So We Met In L.A. Close Enough!

Whataburger RULES

Alright, alright, we're not really friends with the Brad. Just seein' if you're paying attention.

Now, what would we do with all these friends if it weren't for the next AAA?

The Bands

It's done to death, of course, to talk about bands and live music when talking about Austin. But whatevs, isn't that why this city is still here? The wonderful thing about the hype is that it's not just hype. There really are some kick-ass bands in this town. Here's a short list:

To Get Your Ya-Ya's Out in the booziest, struttinest way possible: The Happen-ins

To Get Your Garage Rockiness On: Shapes Have Fangs

To Get Your Long Hair On and Your Eardrums Gone: Scorpion Child

To Get Your Soul All Buttered: T-Bird and the Breaks

I told you it was a short list, and yes, those are all my buddies. But hey, PROMOTE YOUR FRIENDS' WORK. Just sayin'. Trust me, there are a ton of other great bands to see here.

Homeslice

If you've ever been to Austin, you don't need me to tell you. Sure, there are lots of killer slices like this all over the world, but Homeslice is the only one that scents the air of my 'hood and is often brought straight over by these two members of Olympus:

If Only She'd Lighten Up!

The Arlo Bishop Experience

My kid eats at Homeslice. She was also #1 Student in her class. You do the math.

Hey, If Avery Likes It, You Know It's Good! Uncle Dan Seems To Be a Fan, Too.

KUT

I love KUT. It's pretty much always on in my car. Sure, it's not perfect, but there is usually something interesting coming through the airwaves. The news gets me to work, John Aielli captivates me all morning with his space-cadet thought processes and eardrum-massaging voice (haters to the left), and the healthy dose of NPR sprinkled throughout the day is always massively informative. We even get to hear our friends on there daily, either playing music or talking about it! 

No Really, We Love It!

The Girls

Truly, the best thing about the ATX is the GIRLS. Specifically, these two:

She Rings Like a Bell Through The Night, And Wouldn't You Love To Love Her?

She's Like A Rainbow

Okay, so that's just a short list. Clearly, I like short lists.