I just found out that downtown Austin’s Intel-building-that-never-was got imploded this week. I wish I could have been there, it was only a few blocks from our house… just across Town Lake.

Watching that video reminded me of the night that Dan, Kelly, and I stayed up all night at Union Pool to watch the Twin Keyspan Gas Tanks fall in Williamsburg in July 2001. I remember being both filled with glee and a little bit terrified. Once the debris cloud started creeping our way, we actually started running. It seemed like a big deal at the time.

I never really thought about it until today, but we spent another notable evening at Union Pool again 3 months later after we’d all fled the towers falling in Manhattan on September 11th. What I remember most of all from that night is that I finally reached my parents by phone at around 11 when we were walking back to the apartment. It was such a confusing night– we were still reeling from the day, having a few beers, and then watching George Bush unwrap his new rhetoric of evil and terror for the first time the on the little TV behind the bar. I have no idea of what I actually said to my folks on the phone, but I’m sure it was odd. Do y’all remember?