Log 1: 2-6-25
Flying Squad Takes Flight!
ATX Flying Squads is back in session, and we started our opening week taking to the streets of downtown Austin. Our young people led us on a walk down W. 2nd street, and we visited Toy Joy. From shelves of Hello Kitty-themed items, to zombie figurines, and slasher movie character paper dolls, we appreciated and discussed the shop’s unique merchandise. Next, after a pit stop at 7-eleven for refreshments, we went on an unsuccessful hunt for pizza. The Onion was unfortunately closed down, but we took the time to reevaluate the direction of our trip. One young person utilized the landing of the Onion as a skate ramp, and one of our Instigators thought up some dollar dares for the group. Get someone to give a high five and get a dollar, get someone to do a popular dance move and get five dollars. Our group had people on the street doing “The Floss” and “The Stanky Leg” and got lots of high fives. We were still craving pizza and getting very hungry, so we headed to Whole Foods, loaded up to-go boxes at the hot food bar, and set up to picnic on the roof. There were some interesting conversations about music and which platforms were best for listening to it (Pandora seemed the preferred choice). We eventually found ourselves at Waterloo Records and scoured the vinyls, noting the interesting memorabilia. There were two bags of mystery merch, and two of our young people bought them just for fun. They ended up being full of old-school collectables and stickers, which the instigators recognized immediately (think The Beatles). We were soon off again, exploring downtown, while stopping to photograph street art, and made a pit stop at yet another 7-eleven. This prompted a discussion of what everyone might remember to pack next time, to keep costs down, and make the weekly excursions sustainable. Packing lunches, bringing extra water, and reassessing wardrobe choices were among the most important points discussed. As we headed over a pedestrian bridge, back towards our meeting and parting spot, the group seemed to really feel at home in their urban environment. Like they could run this city, like they ARE this city. We look forward to many more weeks of adventure and instigation.
