Well.
Twenty years we've been back in Austin.
September 16th, 2006, we made it back to Austin.
September 21, 2006, we were in the house.
In the late 90's, I had come to know Jack Kirby's Fourth World, really loving Mister Miracle, super escape artist, and his warrior wife, Big Barda. And, yes, of course circa 2001 I'd read The Escapist by Michael Chabon (still a favorite) and understood what Chabon was doing. But for me it was Mister Miracle (and Orion in other circumstances) and King Kirby - that material which no doubt helped inspire Chabon's book.
And, man, did those Mister Miracle comics feel like an outlet while we were in Phoenix. Trapped by geography, shackled by circumstance, with everyone certain you'll detonate any moment? I still consider our return to Austin a great escape.
Our story: Some will recall the dot-com-bust economy kind of cratered the Austin tech scene in 2001, which led to Jamie losing her job. In April of 2002, Jamie headed out to the greater Phoenix area for an opportunity and a new life of adventure. I was trailing behind, spending the next few months closing down my job at UT Austin and packing up our house (down in the 78704 when that area was affordable).
