Thursday, September 22

Things I Love About Galveston

The way that its saltwater air smells

The house that my aunt has lived in for my whole life, right around the corner from the house where my grandparents raised their family

That people still know my dad as "young Julian," although his father passed away thirteen years ago and my dad is in his fifties

That my parents met and got married there

The block of Broadway where you can get Shipley's doughnuts, Leon's barbecue and Texas Star tamales

The amazing Victorian architecture that survives through much of the city

That my brother, sister, and I have gone there almost every year of our lives, even though we've never actually lived on the island

The "tacky house," so-called because it had every light in the world lit on it every Christmas - really, I've never seen anything like it

That from the first time I actually drove a car on the island, maybe five years ago, I never had to ask for directions anywhere - I just knew how to get there

The Artillery Club, where they somehow know what I want to drink before I ask for it, and where my Uncle John taught me that steaks should always be medium rare at most

The people of Galveston, who are friendly, fun-loving, and stubborn as all hell

The fact that everywhere I turn, I see my grandparents, my parents, my cousins, my family, in the buildings and places that have been part of my life since before I could remember

Please pray for the City of Galveston, and for the good people of the City, of Texas City, of Hitchcock, of League City, of Friendswood, of Houston, of all the places in between. Please pray for my hometown in the face of Rita.