January 8th Blog
Not good news for restaurants on Congress in downtown Austin. Due to the inexplicable deaths of sixty-three grackles, everyone’s favorite bird, the avenue was closed down from the Capitol to Cesar Chavez. Many restaurants had to close for lunch, losing valuable weekday revenue.
Paranoia over this event was so high that even The Department of Homeland Security got involved. I really can’t see Al Queda coming at us via the grackles but apparently somebody tried to make that connection. The grackle slayings made the national news that night and Internet bulletin boards buzzed with speculation as to the cause of the deaths. Bird flu or something environmental was almost immediately ruled out.
Here’s my take: Some merchant got fed up with having to wade through mounds of grackle droppings on the sidewalk and took matters into their own hands. The birds are most definitely a pain in the ass and annoying as hell. Worse than that, they occasionally even eat their young.
It’s tough enough for downtown restaurants as it is. Recent closings of Houlihans and Thistle Café (for dinner) are good examples of just how tough it is. Allow me to offer a point of view that may be deemed by some to be politically incorrect. If another grackle slaying occurs, I say clean ’em up quickly and let commerce proceed.
