Galveston - the Isla de Malhado

What a tough, old, worn, tragic but strangely beautiful lady Galveston is.  

Once upon a time, Galveston was one of the world’s major commercial and shipping centers.  She was one of the largest US ports of the day during the 19^th century.  

But then, Mother Nature, as she so often does, taught humanity a lesson by way of one of the most devastating hurricanes modern US has ever seen.  That hurricane swept through Galveston destroying most of the magnificent architecture and taking some 8,000 lives.  That disaster still shows scars today.  But more on that later.

What I find interesting is that Galveston Island’s woes go back through history.  She wasn’t exactly a treasured and enduring spot for the old local Indian peoples and even the first Spanish explorers called her the "Isla de Malhado" ( or isle of doom).  Then she became a pirate haven in the early 1800s during the Mexico rebellion against the Spanish.  Galveston in those days was known as a pirate “kingdom”.  

The US Navy gave that mob the boot in about 1821 and slowly, but surely Galveston established herself as an important commercial and economic hub for the Southern States.  She was the center of trade and one of the largest cotton ports of the day, competing only with New Orleans.  Galveston was home to the first US post office, the first naval base, first Masonic Chapter, first cotton company, first US insurance company, gas light, opera house, orphanage, telephone and so on and so forth.  Surfice to say, she was a city of firsts!!  She was a city that marked the ‘golden era’ in the US’s growth and development as the world power today.  She also was one of the first cities to promote African-American civil rights.

Then 8 September 1900 changed everything.  This date marks what is still recorded as the deadliest natural disaster in US history. The hurricane literally wiped out Galveston and shattered a very tight-knit community.  Eight thousand plus lives in those days must have been unbelievably devastating – no family would have been left untouched.

Following that tragedy, Galveston just hit the bottom of the barrel and fell into a state of social, economic and human decay.  The city simply didn’t or couldn't recover.  It hosted brothels, casinos, illegal distilleries etc for a  while during the prohibition era but even those industries abandoned her to the extent that in post WWI, Galveston was on the brink of sinking into the Gulf and becoming a lost city.  

But then, as wars are want to do, WWII came to the rescue with Galveston being established as a major Army Air Corp base, and the base for the Bombardment and Anti-submarine corps.  That kept her afloat.  

And following WWII, some farsighted community members decided on a new strategy of not only encouraging immigration but also protecting and restoring the few historic buildings that remained.  Between the supported immigration program (which apparently altered the ethnic makeup of not only Texas but also the western US) and the promotion of Galveston as a beachside destination, she is slowing clawing her way back almost 100 years later.

Sadly, however, in 2008 Hurricane Ike came along and I guess for locals it must have felt like history repeating itself.  Although better prepared in terms of evacuations, Ike devastated the Island again.

So when one visits, you are torn between the barren, flat and ‘vacant’ nature of the city and the serene, laid-back beauty of the island.  She really is an Island.  The people are islander’s who carry that grace that comes with living on an island and dealing with everything that that brings.  The remaining old world architecture certainly hints at what this city must have been like – magnificent.   You are left wondering what she could have been like today had nature not come knocking during the formative period of Galveston’s history.

The Odd Life

With a group of new Houston friends, I pottered along today for a coffee, cake and movie morning.  It is such a simple pleasure to sit and chat with people, introducing yourselves, and learning about each other and life's experiences.  Everyone has a story to tell.  As did the morning's movie choice - The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  What a fabulous heart warming story.  Simple yet really quite poignant.  Its essentially about a childless couple desperate for children.  They bury a little wooden box full of things written down on pieces of paper that they believe their child would have been like. As in all things Disney, miracles happen and that miracle is Timothy who is not what he seems.  Predictable but also a good feel story!  A great morning movie following a great cup of coffee, cake and conversation.

The spice of life

I think it was Princess Irulan from Dune who said “The spice extends life.  The spice expands consciousness….The spice is vital to space travel.”  While if my memory serves me correctly, she was talking about a gas only found on the imaginary planet of Arrakis (ie Dune) which allowed the Spacing Guild to bend time and space, the meaning can nonetheless be bent to my purposes also.  That is; travel is a spice that extends life and it certainly does expand the consciousness. I am addicted.

I am re-energized by everything I experience when travelling.  Everything from the smells all around me; the sounds be they natural or otherwise; the taste of the cuisine and local beverages; to of course, the sights that fill my viewfinders (be they natural or otherwise).  The people I meet amuse, challenge, engage and enthrall me.  The cultural differences expand the mind and teach me lessons, and I always then spend countless hours examining my experiences and pushing my boundaries of knowledge and attitude just that little bit more each time.

I am fortunate to be able to travel.  But I have seized opportunities, chased them – some requiring sacrifices and some sacrifices that have been difficult on the heart to make.  But the rewards for me are worth it and continue to fully compensate.

My challenge travelling these days has come from an unexpected source.  But one which again teaches lessons and keeps me grounded to my past.  That is; these days the body is not so complicit in my adventures and likes often add to the challenge of travelling and adventuring.  But you know what….while ever I can, I will, come what may!!!

The "Dignity" philosophy

So let’s talk “oh sh..” moments.  Have you had one?  In my case tonight, it was one of those moments which US folk like to call “wardrobe malfunctions” or “bad wardrobe choice” moments.  But I adopted a valuable life philosophy that my sister lives by…”maintain dignity at all costs”.

The scene: sunset’s twilight; the cicadas’ are singing; the temperature is set at a sultry but divine degree; the love of my life is whipping up a frenzy in the kitchen; and the wine is delivering a bouquet of dark chocolate and plum.  Perfect.  So moi, adorned in a sheer chemise de nuit with glass of wine in hand, decided it was a good time to go and twine the flourishing Southern Wisteria through my supposedly private Juliet balcony bars.  “Hey y’all” was enough to cause a heart stopping shock to my peaceful trice and the “oh sh..” to sprint through the brain.  But hoping like hell that my outrageous Wisteria was thick enough to cover the nether regions and adopting the “maintain dignity” theme, I looked over the balcony at my more mature neighbors who were out wearingly pruning their thorny Bougainvillea and said “Hello” with elegance, “lovely evening isn’t it”.  “Y’all not from ‘round here, are ya” was the response.  Up for a chat is a polite way of putting it with this lovely Southern couple.  By the end of it, I was not only fully informed of what they and their adult children do; the dog’s name; and all the best restaurants in the area, but I had also secured an invitation to a ‘genuine south Texan Bar-B-Q (emphasis important here) and given advice on the best way to trim and control my flourishing creeper!  Throughout this conversation, I was constantly shifting my carriage in the hope of improving the situation to one of more advantage but despite my best efforts, I was left wondering how much dignity I was truly maintaining.  However, given the Bar-B-Q invite it would appear that my new neighbors were sufficiently impressed, but by what specifically is best left to the gods to contemplate.  I am going to take the higher and positive ground of believing it to be because of my outgoing and engaging personality.  Time will tell…..

But yes, c’est moi qui l’ai fait!!

Welcome

Great conversation and company, coupled with a fabulous meal and wines….how perfect.  Our new neighbors took us out for dinner last night to this fabulous little local restaurant around the corner – Lucio’s.  I was so impressed by the food.  So far, I have really struggled with a lot of the meal options at restaurants.  Portion sizes are enormous and, as a general rule, sauces and dressings seem to be a big deal here.  That is; everything is smothered.  But the chef at Lucio’s has struck a perfect balance.  However, the food was really just complimentary to our wonderful company.  Our little complex of 8 townhouses is fabulously multicultural.  We have neighbors from Columbia, Venezuela, Italy, US and England – that I know of.  Architects, builders, engineers, lawyers, a professional linguist and translator, and a photographer.  So much to share and learn from each other!

Lucio's BYO & Grill

Texans mania

Football in the US is a religion.  More so than anything I have experienced before…not even AFL in Perth can compete with the passion of the fans here in the US.  In fact, parents have been known here to hold their sons back a year or two in school to enable them to grow bigger therefore improving their chances of football selection and scholarships!  Many choose the school for its football program – not its educational standing.

Interestingly, American Football had its origins in Rugby sometime back in the mid 1800s.  However, today there is little resemblance at all, as far as I can tell, except to say you have two teams of men facing off against each other attempting to gain ground in the opposition’s territory.  And they are huge men!!  These guys are all generally over 6 foot tall and weighing in at 130 to 140 kilos!  Add to that all the padding and helmet gear and they truly do look like gladiators out there.

So my first Houston Texans game, playing against the San Francisco 49ers, was a great experience.  Like the men, Reliant Stadium is enormous and the game, the first of the season, was sell out.

Everything about the night is certainly entertainment.  Apart from the pre-game show, the cheerleaders, and music throughout the game, the players themselves are also showmen, playing up to the crowd and whipping up the atmosphere.

However, when all is said and done, I do love my rugby probably because the teams just get out there and play. There isn’t the same amount of stopping and starting, or team changes that you see here.  Its seems to me that there is more standing around and huddling then actual play.  But hey….that’s just my uniformed early view.  I believe a few more games are in order before I can commit to this new sport!  But I do recommend that everyone should trundle along to a game once, just for the amazing experience of it.