Galveston

It's been a heart-breaking few days, after Hurricane Ike rocked the Texas gulf coast in and around Galveston. Now I know what those who loved New Orleans felt when their beloved city was severely damaged by Katrina. I find myself wanting to see what is left of the island, and being saddened by what I've found. There are glimmers of good news, but the overall sense is that Galveston won't be the same ever, and it will take years for it to even attain a shadow of its former self. A collection of images is available at the Galveston County Daily News site.

Galveston Island is one of those places that belongs to the entire state. Visitors take a part of it home with them, and I don't just mean the sand that's impossible to clean out of your car. There's just something about the town, its history, its people and the times had there.

It's not the prettiest beach, but the amenities there more than make up for it. There is glamor to be had, but it's not that kind of place, either. It's kind of an Everyperson's Beach. The wind, surf and sun is an equalizer that allows everyone to have fun. During our last trip there, a few days during Spring Break in April, there were even young hospital patients being wheeled along the seawall to enjoy the scene. We saw a couple being married on one of the jetties, surrounded by the water, at sunset. People in fancy cars and homeless souls are drawn to the water, the seawall, the town.

I've had some memorable trips there:

• A Spring Break with my parents.
• Several days by myself after a stressful semester of college.
• My weeklong honeymoon and a return for a romantic trip a year later.
• A few business trips to Texas City where I broke away for some beach time, too.
• Summer 2007, our best family trip to date, renting a house for a week on Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula.

Speaking of Bolivar, it is incredibly hard to see how little is left of civilization there. There used to be dunes to offer some protection from the water, but the storm surge flattened them and most of the homes and businesses there. Last year's summer vacation trip was so great because the atmosphere was so relaxing. It was living in slow motion the entire time, just what we needed to recharge. Besides the really long lines to board the ferry across Galveston Bay, I can say with confidence that it's a trip we hope to repeat. Now that timeline is pushed back indefinitely. There's simply nothing there anymore.

But Galveston and Bolivar will be rebuilt, eventually. The area faced the same momentous task after the 1900 Hurricane, which remains the single-most fatal natural disaster in U.S. history. Had that storm not made a direct hit on the island, Galveston would have been a different place. By many accounts, it could have been our country's largest seaport and place of commerce. Its location could have been the front door to a global import fortune. Just to the north, Houston is on the map as a bustling port and commerce center, but it, too, was dealt a bruising blow by Ike.

My heart goes out to the survivors, those who have lost loved ones, their homes and all their possessions to the murky water, mud and strong winds. I wish I could do more to help. Stand strong and fight.