Eight Feet Deep

Here I am at the Sign of the Beast a.k.a. Starbucks. Well, it really is a part of the Barnes & Noble store so I haven’t completely sold my soul.

I would not be here in the first place had not our wonderful local Roadrunner service made its daily crap-out. When I returned to Beaumont after evacuating for Rita, my cable TV service came on, somewhat, the night after electricity was restored. Internet service appeared the next day. And I’ve sort of had such service since except each and every day the service goes off for significant periods of time.

The problem is I really don’t know whether it is all storm related or from an existing problem that Time Warner never got around to fixing. I really hate Time Warner Cable. I have never dealt with a more incompetent, totally dysfunctional business in my life. Just maintaining service during times when the area has not been devastated by a hurricane is difficult enough. I will say, their tech service people are generally good. I’ve also had good service from the cable guys who come to your house. But customer service? At Time Warner customer service is an oxymoron.

I wonder how many people out of the nine or 10 here in Starbucks who are using their computers are doing so because Time Warner can’t keep Roadrunner online?

By the way, there is an obnoxious little boy sitting here with his mother and his mother is about as obnoxious. The obnoxious boy is trying to sing “Eye of the Tiger” except he sings (badly) “I Am the Tiger.” Perhaps he should try “Secret Asian Man” or “Warn Snell of Colitas.” The mother is now talking on her cell phone. She just hung up. They’re leaving. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Adios ya little shit.

Insanity. Don’t leave home without it.

Why oh why must I have such deep, dark, cynical, jaded thoughts? Experience maybe?

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Woodlands, Texas, listened yesterday as his East Texas constituents aired frustrations over Red Cross and federal responses to the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. Various news accounts indicated Brady was wearing a bullet-proof vest and was guarded by state troopers in response to an alleged threat made against the congressman.

Next, the news apparently reached the rest of the world early today that Brady had been arrested the previous Friday night in South Dakota for driving under the influence. Brady was reportedly there to attend the University of South Dakota homecoming, where he had graduated from college.

Do you see a connection?

It would not be the first time a Texas politician did something rash to gain sympathy from voters. Former State Rep. Mike Martin, a Republican from Longview, was prosecuted for perjury by the now prominent Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle. The charges stemmed from Martin arranging to have his cousin shoot the lawmaker to gain sympathy for a planned state senate run. I seem to remember Martin, who was sought for awhile by police, was found hiding in some speaker cabinets. However, I read it was a puppet stage in which he hid. It was way back in 1980s, the time that time forgot.

Now I am not accusing Brady of anything. I just raise the specter that odd things happen in politics. I don’t think a DUI is necessarily going to be a death blow to Brady anyway. Despite the Bible Belt leanings of the East Texas Pineywoods portion of his district, the people can be a forgiving lot if you do your job. After all, former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson represented the area for more than 20 years.

For your viewing pleasure here are some photos I took upon returning home to Beaumont, Texas, after having evacuated for Hurricane Rita.

It may be awhile before I buy gas again at the neighborhood convenience store.

I believe this is — was — a beauty shop just up the next street from my place.

Blue tarps such as this one on a home that serves as a lawyer’s office, just across my neighbor’s yard from me, are all the rage these days.

Very succinct. But it doesn’t really do much for those looters who can’t read.

This was my perspective on North Street, the street on which I live, as I returned home for the first time. The poles are really a metaphor for what life has been like here recently.

If you don’t keep your sense of humor, the terrorists, ah, hurricanes, have won.

The 20th century has finally arrived for me. No matter that it is the 21st century. I am sitting at a table in Easys Tapas and Martinis for lunch, blogging live and in vivid color. Well, everything here is in color at least. Vivid is kind of a relative term.

I broke down while I was in my Dallas exile from the hurricane aftermath and decided to purchase a laptop. Today is the first day I have had a chance to try out the Wi Fi card I bought. It seems to do okay. I have to say that, when you are alone in a restaurant awaiting your food, jacking with the computer sure beats looking all around like you’re a lost little gooselet (if that is indeed a word).

It’s rainy this morning here in the land of Rita recovery a.k.a. Beaumont, Texas. I’m sure that isn’t good for those whose houses have holes in them from the many trees the storm knocked down.

Yesterday was an awesome day, weatherwise. A friend and I drove to Sabine Pass to check out some of the storm damage there. Rita had truly flattened some structures. It also was rather bizarre seeing fishing boats blown or floated out into the marshes — a good distance from the bay. We then drove about 12 miles to the beach at McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge (which I see from their Web site that it’s technically closed due to the storm). Perhaps it was a bit decadent, going to the beach while the whole area around you has been walloped by a hurricane. But I think my friend will agree that we deserved a few hours at the beach after all we’ve gone through in the last couple of weeks. Besides, it was her idea.

The beach turned out to be fabulous and relatively clean. I could see only two or three other people on the entire beach for as far as the eye could see. If you want a good day to go to the beach wait until just after a hurricane.

About two weeks from now I will have not smoked a cigarette in five years. Perhaps that is not such a big deal, but it is quite a personal triumph for me. The reason is that I had smoked for about 29 years before giving up tobacco completely.

Those who smoke or have smoked know that smoking is more than just a bad habit. It’s also a snapshot of the current culture.

When I moved here to Beaumont, Texas, after living in Waco for seven years, I found it odd that restaurants still allowed smoking. I don’t know why I felt that way. Waco hasn’t had a non-smoking ordinance all that long. I guess it was just awareness or perhaps too much time on my hands. If I have a preference in a restaurant it is generally in a non-smoking area but I don’t make a big deal out of it either way. Cigarette and cigar smoke can bother me after awhile, especially if I am in a tightly confined space. But I made a vow when I quit not to be the self-righteous ex-smoker that always drove me up the wall. So far, I don’t think I have been.

I think back about just how much our culture has changed with respect to smoking cigarettes. I thought about it the last time I traveled by air. I remembered when I flew off for boot camp you could then smoke on planes. I also remember how I used to think nothing about standing in line at a grocery store, puffing away. Times have certainly changed.

Quitting smoking brings with it certain health benefits, the more the longer you have quit. But I would consider myself extremely lucky to have no ill effects in the future from my longtime smoking.

Being smoke-free has other palpable benefits as well. I have slowly regained my sense of smell. Although, since garbage service has been on hold the last two weeks due to the hurricane, that isn’t all that great a deal. My sense of taste has improved as well.

I have had a few flashes where I think about smoking, especially in times of stress. But they only last a nanosecond. I also remember a dream where I bought cigarettes but I didn’t smoke them. I think that is a good sign.