Galveston, oh Galveston...
God be with you (and Houston, and others in the path of Rita)
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
This isn't going to be easy to write, for a variety of reasons. Hopefully it will make sense when I'm done.
I believe (faulty memory cells, forgive me if I forget what I have written and what I haven't here, though I don't believe I'll ever be as insanely repetitive as a clueless old, one note, liberal is on the Bush bashin' front) that I've written in the past that I can claim to be a Texan by birth, though I have lived the bulk of my life in the Atlantic Coast area, near D.C., which is where my parents are from.
My place of birth is in a much more central, or perhaps even considered Western part of Texas. I don't need to go into details, as the important part is that I should have some emotional ties to Texas, having been born there, and having gone to school for a year there, as well as having done work there for a stretch during a massive Y2K rollout/replacement of equipment for a prior employer.
During my time of working on that Y2K rollout, I had time for what I thought was going to be pleasant family trip to the beach, as well as time to take my son to a ball game in Houston. With the free time available, we rolled down the interstate to Houston, enjoyed a great day (though hot and humid, still a nice day and time there) there and then spent the nite in a hotel there so we'd have the morning hours the next day to go the last 30 miles (give or take) down to Galveston to see the beach during the day.
I had memories of Galveston from when I was a youngster, having gone there with my parents and grand parents while we were in Texas seeing my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. I remembered seeing homes there there impressive. Plantation style homes, stately manors and estates. It seemed like a quaint area, with a storied history. As a child, I really had knowledge of the area's unfortunate history back near the turn of the century when the town was virtually wiped out by a very strong hurricane that passed through.
In my more modern life, I was hoping to show my wife the pretty homes, and gulf coast area, and let my children check out the beach there and splash in the gulf waters.
Unfortunately, on day number 2, as we left the Houston area, and were headed to Galveston, I encountered a would-be Galveston area's finest who was anything but. I received a ticket for speeding when I most definitely was not (the idiot deputy admitted to me he was clocking a big old Ford pick-up truck doing 85 MPH when I slid from the middle lane over to the fast lane in front of the truck. I never hit the gas, and never hit the brake. The cruise control in the rental car was still pegged at 70 MPH which was the posted speed limit). Rather than realizing the radar was still bouncing off the larger object behind my low slung rental car, the deputy decided that I was the one that passed him doing 86 MPH and he proceeded to give me the ticket for it, even as he watched the pick-up truck (driven by someone of the same skin tint as himself) fly right on by.
While I wasn't happy about getting a ticket I didn't deserve, I sat on the side of the road after I was "released" by the rookie deputy. Still fuming, I was trying to read the information on the back of the ticket to try to find out where I could find the idiot's superior officer/department so I could register a complaint about getting the ticket, and further complain about the fact that the idiot let the pick-up, which was close to running up the rear-end of the rental I was driving when I shifted lanes, go on by.
Before I could gather my thoughts, the rookie turned back on his lights and without me ever moving, he pulled me over again, the second time telling me to step out of the car. He proceeded to tell me that I was driving on a suspended or expired license (a bogus charge), and he had to take me in. I politely told him that was wrong, insisted I wanted my wife out of the car to hear the bogus charges, (I didn't say he was making anything up, I just said I wanted her out of the car to hear what he was saying) and things went down hill quickly from there.
Within a minute, I was handcuffed for resisting a lawful order, and was shoved into his Camaro/Firebird cruiser in a very uncomfortable position. About 2 minutes after that, as the deputy started explaining to my wife what was happening, the deputy was interrupted by a call from his dispatcher who proceeded to tell the rookie that she had a correction to prior information - the license was valid. I started screaming that I wanted an F---ing apology, and that resulted in added charges of the equivalent of disturbing the peace.
I spent the next several hours in a holding cell, while my wife had to go get a bondsman to get me bonded out of jail. For the next 2 years, I had to contact the bond agency on a regular basis to let them know where I was, and how to reach me. Approximately 2 years later, the bondsman that originally came and got me out contacted the local JP and got the charges dropped. Something the local area (Galveston/Texas City area) lawyer we paid to handle the case was supposed to have done and really didn't. Somehow the lawyer was able to get "Probation before Judgement" back immediately after the case was started, but he never followed up on the case, even with my prodding in phone/mail, and again, the charges were finally dropped thanks to the work of the bondsman who went above and beyond.
Since that time, what was supposed to have a been a love for Texas was in many ways an extreme unlike. At least for the Galveston area, which seemed to me to be a place of injustice. I hate to admit that I virtually cheered when Hurricane/Tropical Storm Allison went zipping through the gulf, aimed almost exactly at Galveston. It was quite similar to my thoughts about Washington, N.C., another area where I had experienced a brush with the law over my driving (though there, admittedly I was guilty of speeding, and paid my fine without question. It was the stiffness of the fine, the fact that it was a mandatory court appearance in a cash based court that reformed me and insured that I was most definitely NOT speeding in the Houston/Galveston area, knowing I couldn't possibly afford insurance if I got another speeding ticket after the ticket in N.C., and couldn't afford to pay for another ticket either). My experience in Washington, N.C., would have been fine, though I had to pay a lawyer there also because the officer that pulled me over (a grizzled vet) wasn't happy that I couldn't figure out where to pull over the rental car I was driving since there were no hard shoulders. Because of that, the officer had added a charge of failure to comply with blue light, and it took a very sincere apology and discussion with the lawyer to convince him that that charge wasn't needed and wasn't true, as I have several family members that were involved in law enforcement and know full well never to even consider not complying with a law enforcement officer.
In the case of Washington, N.C., a Tropical Storm/Hurricane did serious flood damage to the area within a year of my experience there. I knew of the area having had my mis-adventures there, and though it's sad and cruel to say it, I was actually happy in many ways that the area was feeling the wrath of god. To me it seemed that Karma had paid me back in some ways.
The same held for Galveston, TX when Allison went through. It felt to some extent that Karma was paying back that area for what had happened to me.
Flash forward a few years later to now. Now I sit here knowing that many people from New Orleans were evacuated over to Houston. A place in the path of Hurricane Rita, a monster storm that looks like it could do to Galveston and Houston what happened to New Orleans and worse. Perhaps much worse.
Having been removed from my own experience in the Galveston area for a while now, and being more mature in general, I want this storm to just go away. I want the people left alone, and things to just be all right. Katrina has done enough damage to so many people that (hopefully) did nothing to ever deserve the hell and devestation they are living with and through that I hope to never see anything like it again.
Sadly, it seems that Nature, God, Karma or something has other plans for the gulf coast area. As I type this, Rita is a category 5 hurricane. Sustained winds of approximately 165 MPH. If there was a higher category available on the scale, Rita would probably be a category 6. The scale stops at 5 because at that point total devestation and destruction is expected. The graphic on the TV now says 175 MPH winds.
My wife just told me again, hey idiot, be careful what you wish for. She knew that I held my grudge and distaste for Galveston for several years. I haven't told her what I'm typing here, but perhaps she knows. We've talked about this storm since it first started looking like it was gonna head over into the gulf area. I knew early on in looking at the path that this storm was/is gonna be a monster. Warm gulf waters, basically open seas to blow over, equals much more power and gaining of strength.
I am not the most religious person. Despite what some may think based on past writings here and topical articles I have blogged on. But I really do pray that this storm doesn't do the damage it seems it is destined to do. Spare the people in Houston, Galveston and these other areas please. Let the damage be minimal, the loss of live none, and let things get back to normal for everyone soon, please.
I remain ready to contribute to relief efforts, and help where possible, but I really hope that the help is not needed. I'm heartened that most people in the Galveston area, and Houston as well seem to be taking this storm very seriously. It should help make things better, but there's still a lot of pain, effort, and work in store for everyone. Again, please let it be minimal.
Finally, not just Houston, but Waco, Dallas, and other areas in the path of Rita - please stay safe.
I believe (faulty memory cells, forgive me if I forget what I have written and what I haven't here, though I don't believe I'll ever be as insanely repetitive as a clueless old, one note, liberal is on the Bush bashin' front) that I've written in the past that I can claim to be a Texan by birth, though I have lived the bulk of my life in the Atlantic Coast area, near D.C., which is where my parents are from.
My place of birth is in a much more central, or perhaps even considered Western part of Texas. I don't need to go into details, as the important part is that I should have some emotional ties to Texas, having been born there, and having gone to school for a year there, as well as having done work there for a stretch during a massive Y2K rollout/replacement of equipment for a prior employer.
During my time of working on that Y2K rollout, I had time for what I thought was going to be pleasant family trip to the beach, as well as time to take my son to a ball game in Houston. With the free time available, we rolled down the interstate to Houston, enjoyed a great day (though hot and humid, still a nice day and time there) there and then spent the nite in a hotel there so we'd have the morning hours the next day to go the last 30 miles (give or take) down to Galveston to see the beach during the day.
I had memories of Galveston from when I was a youngster, having gone there with my parents and grand parents while we were in Texas seeing my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. I remembered seeing homes there there impressive. Plantation style homes, stately manors and estates. It seemed like a quaint area, with a storied history. As a child, I really had knowledge of the area's unfortunate history back near the turn of the century when the town was virtually wiped out by a very strong hurricane that passed through.
In my more modern life, I was hoping to show my wife the pretty homes, and gulf coast area, and let my children check out the beach there and splash in the gulf waters.
Unfortunately, on day number 2, as we left the Houston area, and were headed to Galveston, I encountered a would-be Galveston area's finest who was anything but. I received a ticket for speeding when I most definitely was not (the idiot deputy admitted to me he was clocking a big old Ford pick-up truck doing 85 MPH when I slid from the middle lane over to the fast lane in front of the truck. I never hit the gas, and never hit the brake. The cruise control in the rental car was still pegged at 70 MPH which was the posted speed limit). Rather than realizing the radar was still bouncing off the larger object behind my low slung rental car, the deputy decided that I was the one that passed him doing 86 MPH and he proceeded to give me the ticket for it, even as he watched the pick-up truck (driven by someone of the same skin tint as himself) fly right on by.
While I wasn't happy about getting a ticket I didn't deserve, I sat on the side of the road after I was "released" by the rookie deputy. Still fuming, I was trying to read the information on the back of the ticket to try to find out where I could find the idiot's superior officer/department so I could register a complaint about getting the ticket, and further complain about the fact that the idiot let the pick-up, which was close to running up the rear-end of the rental I was driving when I shifted lanes, go on by.
Before I could gather my thoughts, the rookie turned back on his lights and without me ever moving, he pulled me over again, the second time telling me to step out of the car. He proceeded to tell me that I was driving on a suspended or expired license (a bogus charge), and he had to take me in. I politely told him that was wrong, insisted I wanted my wife out of the car to hear the bogus charges, (I didn't say he was making anything up, I just said I wanted her out of the car to hear what he was saying) and things went down hill quickly from there.
Within a minute, I was handcuffed for resisting a lawful order, and was shoved into his Camaro/Firebird cruiser in a very uncomfortable position. About 2 minutes after that, as the deputy started explaining to my wife what was happening, the deputy was interrupted by a call from his dispatcher who proceeded to tell the rookie that she had a correction to prior information - the license was valid. I started screaming that I wanted an F---ing apology, and that resulted in added charges of the equivalent of disturbing the peace.
I spent the next several hours in a holding cell, while my wife had to go get a bondsman to get me bonded out of jail. For the next 2 years, I had to contact the bond agency on a regular basis to let them know where I was, and how to reach me. Approximately 2 years later, the bondsman that originally came and got me out contacted the local JP and got the charges dropped. Something the local area (Galveston/Texas City area) lawyer we paid to handle the case was supposed to have done and really didn't. Somehow the lawyer was able to get "Probation before Judgement" back immediately after the case was started, but he never followed up on the case, even with my prodding in phone/mail, and again, the charges were finally dropped thanks to the work of the bondsman who went above and beyond.
Since that time, what was supposed to have a been a love for Texas was in many ways an extreme unlike. At least for the Galveston area, which seemed to me to be a place of injustice. I hate to admit that I virtually cheered when Hurricane/Tropical Storm Allison went zipping through the gulf, aimed almost exactly at Galveston. It was quite similar to my thoughts about Washington, N.C., another area where I had experienced a brush with the law over my driving (though there, admittedly I was guilty of speeding, and paid my fine without question. It was the stiffness of the fine, the fact that it was a mandatory court appearance in a cash based court that reformed me and insured that I was most definitely NOT speeding in the Houston/Galveston area, knowing I couldn't possibly afford insurance if I got another speeding ticket after the ticket in N.C., and couldn't afford to pay for another ticket either). My experience in Washington, N.C., would have been fine, though I had to pay a lawyer there also because the officer that pulled me over (a grizzled vet) wasn't happy that I couldn't figure out where to pull over the rental car I was driving since there were no hard shoulders. Because of that, the officer had added a charge of failure to comply with blue light, and it took a very sincere apology and discussion with the lawyer to convince him that that charge wasn't needed and wasn't true, as I have several family members that were involved in law enforcement and know full well never to even consider not complying with a law enforcement officer.
In the case of Washington, N.C., a Tropical Storm/Hurricane did serious flood damage to the area within a year of my experience there. I knew of the area having had my mis-adventures there, and though it's sad and cruel to say it, I was actually happy in many ways that the area was feeling the wrath of god. To me it seemed that Karma had paid me back in some ways.
The same held for Galveston, TX when Allison went through. It felt to some extent that Karma was paying back that area for what had happened to me.
Flash forward a few years later to now. Now I sit here knowing that many people from New Orleans were evacuated over to Houston. A place in the path of Hurricane Rita, a monster storm that looks like it could do to Galveston and Houston what happened to New Orleans and worse. Perhaps much worse.
Having been removed from my own experience in the Galveston area for a while now, and being more mature in general, I want this storm to just go away. I want the people left alone, and things to just be all right. Katrina has done enough damage to so many people that (hopefully) did nothing to ever deserve the hell and devestation they are living with and through that I hope to never see anything like it again.
Sadly, it seems that Nature, God, Karma or something has other plans for the gulf coast area. As I type this, Rita is a category 5 hurricane. Sustained winds of approximately 165 MPH. If there was a higher category available on the scale, Rita would probably be a category 6. The scale stops at 5 because at that point total devestation and destruction is expected. The graphic on the TV now says 175 MPH winds.
My wife just told me again, hey idiot, be careful what you wish for. She knew that I held my grudge and distaste for Galveston for several years. I haven't told her what I'm typing here, but perhaps she knows. We've talked about this storm since it first started looking like it was gonna head over into the gulf area. I knew early on in looking at the path that this storm was/is gonna be a monster. Warm gulf waters, basically open seas to blow over, equals much more power and gaining of strength.
I am not the most religious person. Despite what some may think based on past writings here and topical articles I have blogged on. But I really do pray that this storm doesn't do the damage it seems it is destined to do. Spare the people in Houston, Galveston and these other areas please. Let the damage be minimal, the loss of live none, and let things get back to normal for everyone soon, please.
I remain ready to contribute to relief efforts, and help where possible, but I really hope that the help is not needed. I'm heartened that most people in the Galveston area, and Houston as well seem to be taking this storm very seriously. It should help make things better, but there's still a lot of pain, effort, and work in store for everyone. Again, please let it be minimal.
Finally, not just Houston, but Waco, Dallas, and other areas in the path of Rita - please stay safe.
