Tomorrow starts the annual rush and crush better known as South by South West (SXSW). Most of the official events don’t actually start in zipcode 78704, but it’s one where it is possibly most noticeable. With South Congress, Auditorium shores, the “Mexican mile” on South First, and lots of new restaurants and alternative destinations in the ‘hood, like Slackerville and plenty of retro and vintage shops hustling for attention, there are bound to be many official and more unofficial events [End of an Ear has 8-bands alone]. Threadgills[South] also in the ’04 has a massive lineup of musicians running from Wednesday through Saturday.

Someone missing from the scene will be Austins’ close held but now passed Leslie, My neighborhood was certainly made special as he regularly hung out on the front porch of La Mexicana bakery and Flashback vintage. There’s already been an outpouring on Facebook of people saying Austin won’t be the same without him, and it sure won’t. He was found on Feb 16th, unconscious in a parking lot across the street from my house. I wasn’t involved in his rescue this time. I did sit with him once though when he’d collapsed for some unknown reason in the Twin Oaks library parking lot, while I waited for the South Austin Medical center to dispatch a free ride to come collect him. Then there was the Sunday morning when I jogged past him at the bus stop on South 5th and W Mary, again apparently passed out, legs akimbo, wearing a short skirt with his less vital organs in clear display. I ran 3-blocks south before deciding to come back and check on him, yep he was “asleep” and after a few minutes it was clear an ambulance wasn’t required.

Yep, it’s a shame he’s gone, no one deserved to be treated like he was when he was beaten up, and Leslie was afforded some great friends like Debbie Russell and many others. Lesie was though much more than a cross dresser to entertain people on S. Congress and Sixth St. and people should remember that when mourning his passing.

And Austin will be just the same without him, there are lots of other people keeping Austin and the ’04 weird. Just take a trip down to Eeyore’s Birthday Party and you’ll see the spirit in full flow, and that doesn’t include some of the more esoteric and fantasy characters like The Bandit Queen of Lady Bird Lake.

Welcome to the ’04 to all the SXSW visitors, we are all here, because we are not all there.