I rented, when I first got to Austin. I auditioned the first members of my band in a tiny 8x10 living room in our rented fourplex. My original sax player stayed with the band for the next nine years. He was the guy to whom I owe my getting interested in buying rent houses. I wrote to him, last year, thanking him for changing my life in such a positive way. He's ninety-two, and still going strong. Yeah, we'll rent in any city we settle down in. I figure six months should do it. That's how long I rented in that quad, before I bought my first house. Austin was an entirely different city, then: The air and water were clean, traffic was light, and the cost of living was low. I told my mom, after my first three months, here, "I'll never leave Austin!" Now, I hope I didn't curse myself!
