Austin Story

-

  This is my sister's house in Austin.  The house on the right of the one in the pic, out of camera shot, is where Charles Whitman stabbed his wife to death.  It has been extensively rebuilt but for years it looked just like it did on the front page of the Austin paper the day of that horrible event.  This is now an upscale neighborhood but I worked with a guy who said it was not paved until after WWII.  In the above I have captured a raccoon who had been living under the house.   Me and my brother took him to an Episcopalian church that sits in some woods a few miles away and let the beautiful, stinky animal go.  He went off like a brown and white flash.  He almost exactly matched the saddle shoes visible behind the cage, a good thing because I wouldn't want us to clash.  I am very fond of raccoons but they can do enormous damage to a house.
     Bon chance little one!

     (An aside.  My brother worked  for the Austin American-Statesman and one of the contract employees was a mailman that August day who walked in on Whitman out in his garage while he was sawing down a 12 gauge.   He exchanged a few words about the legality of this action and left.  I say again, this was a couple of hours before the shootings and Whitman's mother and wife were dead at this point.  A lot of lives could have been saved had this individual just called the police, Whitman used that shotgun on a receptionist and a family that walked in on the scene, 3 dead.  When I met the old (epithet redacted) I knew he was telling the truth, it was just what Gary Lavergne related in his excellent book Sniper In The Tower. books.google.com/books?id=AMqP… Except this person insisted that he was a policeman at the time, which makes him an even bigger (same epithet redacted again).  Fortunately he was lying, things were bad enough that day without morons on the police force.  His name was Chester Arrington and he was an extremely unpleasant person that was probably in dementia when I met him.  I have read an interview where he expressed remorse but he sure showed no sign of that when he told me his story.


Kathy Whitman being removed from the house at 906 Jewel St., August 1st, 1966. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two Angel Forms Were Seen To Glide

-
Image
’Twas on a lofty vase’s side, Where China’s gayest art had dyed The azure flowers that blow; Demurest of the tabby kind, The pensive Selima, reclined, Gazed on the lake below. Her conscious tail her joy declared; The fair round face, the snowy beard, The velvet of her paws, Her coat, that with the tortoise vies, Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes, She saw; and purred applause. Still had she gazed; but ’midst the tide Two angel forms were seen to glide, The genii of the stream; Their scaly armour’s Tyrian hue Through richest purple to the view Betrayed a golden gleam. The hapless nymph with wonder saw; A whisker first and then a claw, With many an ardent wish, She stretched in vain to reach the prize. What female heart can gold despise? What cat’s averse to fish? Presumptuous maid! with looks intent Again she stretch’d, again she bent, Nor knew the gulf between. (Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled) The slippery verge her feet beguiled, She tumbled headlong in. Eigh
Read more

Where In The World Is Billy D Bunny?

-
Image
''The plight of Davis Paul'' ''Dam you to Hades Billy! why are you setting fire to my Wardrobe with your Cigarette!!?''...you would hear on occasion some kind of verbal anger often from Davis - shouting out in abstract Frustration, 'just because Billy Thought Davis Pauls Clothes were lame'' oh yeah, Billy D was the Dude.........Davis put up with so much crap and nonsense from the rebellious Layabout - come would be antisocial super hero, ''the enabler''...Davis Paul was literally at the end of his tether..all those worrisome late nights... Davis would often shout at Billy, during one of Billy's Trash rampages, ''Aunt may never has this problem ever with peter parker !'' and then the rest of the time, Davis Paul wondering where Billy was? and what was Billy D up too? then after hours and hour of worrying,  Billy would just rock up - staggering through the Front door, Gladiator outfit on, covered
Read more

Two Sides Of The Same Coin

-
Image
 It was a lovely day in November.  At least Tom thought it was November, the air was crisp and cool and it felt Novemberish.  There were no calenders here, while he had a clock he rarely looked at it.  He never had to be anywhere at any particular time in any event, when he had to be somewhere he always showed up on time, if that's the word for it.  Anyway, it was a nice Fall day. Tom stood on his porch that surrounded the small field stone house, he could see and smell the smoke from his neighbor's fires, someone was cooking fish and the big cat was salivating.  Since he had had his coffee he wasn't hungry, but the fish really smelled enticing.  Odd, he thought, I haven't had meat since I got here.  When did I get here?  he thought to himself, I don't remember.  Maybe someplace in town sold meat, although he had never seen such a shop.  It didn't matter, what with the bread and potatoes and butter and honey he was never hungry.  Tom lit a cigarette
Read more