Go Fish Galvez

Waterspout, a gentle poetic name for a TORNADO!

And I just found out!

That’s because it was only this evening that I returned home from a trip to the northeast corner of Oklahoma, for a great family visit and a sweet send-off for my Peace-Corps-bound nephew, Jared. But that’s another story well worth a read…

On the last limping leg of my journey home tonight, just after dusk, I slipped quietly back onto the island via I-45 as it mellows into Broadway, hooked a quick right onto 61st street, and headed straight for the seawall for a little heavenly salt spray and a nice Gulf breeze.

Before I got there, though, I noticed something odd. The last stoplight, just before Seawall Boulevard, was blinking. Read the rest of this entry »

Once again, it’s that time of year…

Although technically hurricane season begins June 1st and doesn’t officially end until November 30th, for the little barrier island called Galveston, the middle of August through the middle of September is historically the most dangerous window.

NASA shot of Hurricane Ike

I’m a newcomer here, although a lifelong friend of this vulnerable little sandbar. As a recent transplant, I’m still unpacking boxes, figuring out where things should go, changing my driver’s license, opening bank accounts, settling in.

And yet, storm season—high season for storms, in fact—is upon us. Gad, I’m not ready!

Now, to my little old Craftsman home’s credit, it does have functional shutters, which are obviously original to the house. Still, I wouldn’t want to pit them against a bona fide tropical storm, much less a hurricane, although clearly former owners have so wagered—the multiple panes of cracked glass I’ve discovered since moving in pretty much attest to that. Read the rest of this entry »