Six years ago, after a walk through its beautiful historic district on the bay, I stood along the seawall at Galveston, looking out to sea. Jimmy Webb's brilliant song has never seemed more fitting than today. The news from Galveston island - a low, heavily-developed spit of sand east of Houston, looks pretty grim today; the extent of the human damage is unknown, but it seems many residents stayed behind. In1900, Galveston was the site of the greatest record natural disaster in U.S. history; 8,000 people died and the island was swept clean of human habitation. Sometimes, history repeats and sometimes it doesn't. Let's hope it doesn't this time. And if it does, let's hope we're ready.
My Dirty Life & Times
- Tom Watson is a journalist, author, media critic, entrepreneur and consultant who has worked at the confluence of media technology and social change for more than 20 years. This long-running blog is my personal outlet - an idiosyncratic view of the world. "My dirty life and times" is a nod to the late, great Warren Zevon because some days I feel like my shadow's casting me.
Tom's 411
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