Do You Feel Lucky?

Linda Sappenfield — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:03:00 GMT

Jan Triplett observes that picking up a rock in Texas provokes one of two likely consequences: "there is going to be a snake under it" or "oil is gonna gush out from under it" (Texas in Her Own Words, p. 166). Acknowledging extremes of good and bad fortune, we may concede that the harsh, tragic, reptile-producing end of the spectrum is what ultimately molded the Texan character.

Clint Lynch, Director of Research for Texas State Cemetery, concurs: "I always thought Texas was founded in failure" (p. 170). He lists Houston's alcoholism, Travis' marital troubles and debt, Crockett's lost re-election bid, and Bowie's land fraud charges as proof of the alchemy that has often wrought dignity out of disaster. Sarah Guerra (p. 161) offers a more recent example. Recalling earlier times when she was denied service in restaurants and segregated from Anglo children at school, she reflects, "That love that I didn't get from white people when we were growing up, that probably gave me the courage to love everybody."

Consider this ongoing character-building opportunity: the controversy over Austin's Barton Springs. The first program in Round Rock Reads! 2008 series, a screening of The Unforeseen, showcases the conflict between real estate developers and advocates for the environment. Director Laura Dunn's award-winning film not only chronicles the battle between land investors' interests and the Save Our Springs alliance but also foreshadows the aftermath of unimpeded development.

Film critic Kenneth Turan labels this 2007 Sundance Film Festival selection a "whodunit, with the Earth itself being the victim of the crime." Mark your calendar for 7:00 P.M., Monday, April 7, when Round Rock Higher Education Center will host this special presentation of The Unforeseen. Could the lessons of Barton Springs produce yet another Texas triumph over impending failure? Watch and decide for yourself.

Los Trabajadores/ The Workers

Sarah Samson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:32:00 GMT

Monday night, the documentary film, Los Trabajadores/The Workers screened at the library. I was pleased with the attendance (28); clearly there are folks in Round Rock who care about the immigration issue and how it affects us here in central Texas. The film's director, Heather Courtney,was in attendance as well. For those of you who haven't seen the film, Los Trabajadores follows two Austin day laborers as they struggle to support their families living in other countries.

The film brought me to tears at points; Courtney has really put a human face on the issue of immigration. Both of these immigrants feel strongly about their "right" to be here in the U.S.: "What I did was to come here illegally and this is against the law of the United States. But it is not against the law of my family." --Ramon Castillo Aparicio. "I will be deported and I don't care... I will have to face the judge and... tell him that we are human beings, the same as his parents and other people who come to the United States as immigrants. We are doing the same thing." --Juan Ignacio Gutierrez.

Following the film, Courtney took questions from the audience. One woman asked Courtney if she thought one of the reasons why people are so angry at immigrants is because they are a drain on the healthcare system. Courtney answered that most immigrants would never go to the hospital or the doctor because they would be too afraid of being deported.

If you would like to see the film, you can check it out at the Round Rock Library.

Round Rock Reads! : Austin

Do You Feel Lucky?

Los Trabajadores/ The Workers