Melinda C.

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Fertitta strikes again!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Feb 1, 2012, 11:07 pm
And God bless him for it! Boy, have I been out of the Galveston loop lately. Busy with the new job, trying to make a lasting positive impression and secure that impending raise—which, by the way, I did today! So it’s been awhile since last I cruised east on Seawall Boulevard, far enough down to
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Plagiarized palms?

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jan 21, 2012, 1:46 pm
Can you trademark a topiary? Copyright a creeping vine? License a landscape? It’s the neighbors. Again. (Gladys Kravitz, you’re thinking? Maybe, but I fancy myself more of a closet Endora… …who, by the way, always reminded me of my old piano teacher, Mrs. Sharp
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Top 10 reasons to keep "trouble" indoors

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jan 17, 2012, 12:13 am
10. Being too busy to prune your houseplants, you prefer to have it done automatically, in the dead of night, one salad leaf at a time.9. It is a known fact that freshly laundered bath towels stay fresher in a wad on the floor, lightly dusted with fur and feline detritus. 8. Speaking of bathrooms
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Home improvements

Melinda C. posted an article on - Dec 3, 2011, 2:20 pm
But not mine—yet. Maybe after a few hundred paychecks, there will be some at my house, too, but for now I’ve been watching, with mild interest, the construction progress of my new neighbors, who bought the little 1947 Tudor Revival directly across the street a few months ago.This modest little h...
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Huh?

Melinda C. posted an article on - Dec 2, 2011, 9:57 pm
Has it really been over two months since I published a post to this, my humble Galvez blog? Indeed it has. So what have I been up to that could possibly be more important that keeping this running diary timely and almost interesting? Well, landing the perfect job, that’s all! My new glorious emplo...
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To sleep, perchance to dream

Melinda C. posted an article on - Sep 17, 2011, 10:37 am
To wake, to cottonball clouds in an azure sky. Lovely. Poetic. Almost Shakespearian. There’s a small chance for showers over the next several days, and oh, dear Hamlet, do we need them. But I must remind myself that a 20% chance that it will rain is mathematically equivalent to an 80% chance that ...
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A confluence of anniversaries…

Melinda C. posted an article on - Sep 10, 2011, 3:45 pm
The moon was almost full last night. Will be nearly so tonight. With a slight breeze to ruffle the tresses and soothe the soul, I sat out last evening on the front porch of my old 1937 home, in my comfortable cedar rocker, and contemplated the upcoming weekend, this weekend so full of meaning, and
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Trube revisited

Melinda C. posted an article on - Aug 14, 2011, 3:24 am
What a fantastical old palace. Ah, how I love the Trube! The J.C. Trube House (1890), designed by architect Alfred Muller, has appeared in these pages before but only in passing, only as an example of the glorious architectural treasures still extant in this great old seaport town. But the Trube Hou...
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Beachtown

Melinda C. posted an article on - Aug 10, 2011, 5:27 pm
Just noticed I’ve been remiss again posting to the blog. Don’t blame me; blame the weather. To quote Aristotle (who was later unabashedly ripped off by Max Wertheimer in developing his Gestalt theory back in the ’20s ), “[t]he whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” How true. (And goo...
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TS Don, the welcome mat's out!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jul 29, 2011, 12:44 am
Never thought I’d be praying for a tropical storm and certainly not looking forward to a visit from anyone named Don (with a wink to Mom—inside joke!), but there it is. Truth be told, I never thought I’d be praying at all, but with this exceptional, protracted drought we’ve been suffering th...
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Block party!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jul 8, 2011, 12:03 am
Albeit unplanned. No matter—invitations not required. Apparently all you need for a spontaneous block party around here is a loud car crash—or, to borrow from the old Batman comics, “KAPOW! CRRAACK! CLUNK!” And if it occurs on a fairly regular basis, right in front of your very own home, you...
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Joli minou!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jul 5, 2011, 4:16 pm
Introducing the newest member of our little island family, a four-month-old gray tabby with white socks on her hind feet and an admirably fearless personality, recently adopted from the Galveston Humane Society.Okay, you say, but what’s her name? Well, for the past week, since I picked her up and ...
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Pretty plumerias

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jun 17, 2011, 7:44 pm
The only bright spot in this otherwise oppressively hot, humid, rainless weather. When will it end? * * * * * Notwithstanding my last post in which I rejoiced at the brief shower we had that day, the Houston and Galveston area, as well as most if not all of the rest of Texas, continues
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It rained today, it rained today!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jun 7, 2011, 5:49 pm
And, like some kind of Madwoman of Seville, I went dashing out, camera poised, shutter open! Okay, so you’ll have to squint a little hard at this photo in order to see the stream of blessed rain flying off my barge rafter. Still, since it’s one for the record books (the rain, that is, not
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Remember who…

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jun 5, 2011, 1:43 am
Walking a prancing Tip late this afternoon, when it wasn’t quite so suffocatingly hot, into the nearby, shaded, historic neighborhood of Cedar Lawn, I chanced upon a great bumper sticker on the back of a car parked on the street: “Remember Who You Wanted To Be” Ah, yes, I remember, and had to ...
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Old Red

Melinda C. posted an article on - May 25, 2011, 12:50 am
Here’s a new one: I never expected to enjoy a trip to the doctor’s office—that is, until today!My enjoyment was not the result of visiting a doctor, of course, but because of what I got to see once I arrived: Old Red! Designed by famed Galveston architect Nicholas J. Clayton, constructed 1888-...
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BRRP!

Melinda C. posted an article on - May 18, 2011, 12:27 am
Hello, Ernestine? * * * Yes, hi. Good, thanks for asking. How are you? * * * Well, I would definitely get that checked, yes. So, Ernestine, dear, is Mr. Arnold in today? * * * Think it might be possible for me to speak with him? * * * Oh, you’re a gem, dear,
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Vote NO to Paid Seawall Parking

Melinda C. posted an article on - May 6, 2011, 12:57 am
And YES to the one simple pleasure of island life that shouldn’t cost you a penny. Enough already with government fees and taxes! Now, if this vote were all about shoring up the seawall itself, that venerable stalwart of concrete, rebar, and riprap that protects our vulnerable little pile of sand ...
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Glorious Galvez

Melinda C. posted an article on - Mar 24, 2011, 3:13 am
Bright warming sunshine, searing blue skies, brown pelicans soaring overhead like small aircraft (but less noisy), the salt and the smell and the spray of the sea. “God help me, I do love it so” (George S. Patton). “And now for something completely different” (Monty Python): A quasi-Jack Han...
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Girls just wanna have fun!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Mar 6, 2011, 9:18 pm
NOTE TO READERS: Warning: Do not try this at home. These ladies are professionals. NOTE TO FRIENDS: Not to worry, gals. The blackmail stories will never cross my lips, mostly because I can’t remember any stories. NOTE TO SELF: Be sure to do this again next year. Cheers!
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Mardi Parti 2011!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Feb 24, 2011, 10:12 pm
Let the fun begin! Bad timing for a party, perhaps, considering I’m being laid off tomorrow, but on the other hand, reason enough and all the more for a little cheer! P.S. Notwithstanding my NASA layoff, which is all about budget dollars and nothing about good works and fine deeds, a giant salute ...
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Foggy foggy night

Melinda C. posted an article on - Feb 21, 2011, 10:14 pm
With a starry starry Don McLean melody wafting up softly from a distant, subconscious place, I sat out on my front porch at a tiny hour the other night, just to marvel at the deep, silent fog that the warm Gulf waters had exhaled over the island, enveloping it in a dense and ghostly mist.
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Snow surfing?

Melinda C. posted an article on - Feb 2, 2011, 12:45 pm
A possibility by week’s end, perhaps, at least according to today’s forecast. How can this be? Remember my recent tangerine tree post with the remark about snow on the beach several years ago? Apparently it did happen back in 2004, and (even harder to believe) the snow fell on Christmas Eve and ...
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You know you live on the Gulf Coast when …

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jan 22, 2011, 3:52 am
A friend from work brings you a piece of fresh fruit from a tree in his back yard… And the fruit is a tangerine… And the month is January. Ah. Now, that’s not to say that we don’t have a winter here on the island. Of course, we do. It’s just that the typical “winter
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Poop Deck!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jan 6, 2011, 12:29 am
One of the precious handful of seawall relics that have somehow managed to survive the wrecking ball (not to mention record storm surges and hurricane-force winds). I can still remember the old Poop Deck tavern from many a childhood vacation, as we passed it by strolling along Seawall Boulevard. And...
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Welcome 2011!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jan 1, 2011, 1:35 am

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A spectre-bark!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Dec 30, 2010, 11:36 pm
I took a drive along Seawall Boulevard today. The weather was mild, balmy in fact, but the sky was overcast and dark, even though it was early afternoon, the air moist and thick, white caps pounding the beach. I love this kind of weather. And as I drove along through the fog, lulled into a
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Galveston Art Deco

Melinda C. posted an article on - Dec 28, 2010, 7:56 pm
Rare and priceless as a pirate’s bullion, washed up on a modern shore—in my book, maybe more. And not just in Galveston. And so it was, about a month ago, that Tip and I were on a walk and, on an impulse (mine), decided to take a leisurely side trip through a unique little neighborhood,
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Trespassers, Part Fin

Melinda C. posted an article on - Oct 9, 2010, 10:46 pm
There have been rumblings of revolution if I don’t finish this titillating tale so here goes. (But feel free to forgo the popcorn and Milk Duds—like a Stephen King novel, after a strong beginning, it finishes up rather weakly.) Okay, so here we were, my bro-in-law Ken and me, out back of this ol...
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The Galveston Pleasure Pier returns!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Oct 7, 2010, 12:04 am
Anyone who knows me even a smidgen has got to know, often painfully if I’m on a rant, that I am an architectural preservationist of the first order. When it comes to old buildings, I teeter on the brink of fanaticism, a hard admission for me to make, since I count myself among those civilized
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Trespassers, Part 2

Melinda C. posted an article on - Sep 14, 2010, 9:14 pm
Pull in, I directed the driver, my long-suffering yet quasi-adventurous brother-in-law Ken, pull in! And drive around back! It was a rapidly disintegrating, Spanish stucco affair, with low arched walls and a red-tiled roof. In the weeds, it was. Literally. And, therefore, right up my alley. We came ...
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Gambling in Galveston?

Melinda C. posted an article on - Sep 3, 2010, 11:36 pm
Like chips and hot sauce or fleas on a dog. Duh! Once again, the issue of bringing gambling back to the place where gambling was invented (at least in Texas) is heating up, with yea-sayers and nay-sayers on both sides. What a shock. But if you ask me, I’m ready to hang my chad and
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Go Fish, Galvez!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Sep 3, 2010, 10:35 pm
Time to bait your hook, load up the cooler, and head on over to the brand new 61st Street fishing pier—hooray! At last, the long-awaited and welcome replacement for that lovable old, fun-and-funky fishing pier at the end of 61st that was dashed to the depths by Ike almost exactly two years ago...
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Trespassers, Part 1

Melinda C. posted an article on - Aug 22, 2010, 1:17 am
But it doesn’t count as law-breaking (does it?) when one is on an historic mission of civic proportions. And we (as in I, the prime mover, with reluctant relatives in tow) were. Ever seen this house? I haven’t. Ever heard of this house? I haven’t. Of course, all us Galvestonians ha...
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Texas tar balls

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jul 6, 2010, 8:31 pm
Thankfully, things aren’t always bigger in Texas. Well, we finally got hit—knew we couldn’t dodge that BP bullet forever—but, so far at least, the tar balls that washed ashore recently were pretty few and far between. Counting the four locations along the Texas Gulf Coast tha...
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Ground control to Major Tom…

Melinda C. posted an article on - Jun 11, 2010, 11:45 pm
Things are looking up—literally. But I can’t talk about my new top-secret job. I won’t and don’t try to make me. No, siree! Mum’s the word. Let’s just say it involves, tangentially at least, flying objects with floating people inside, spectacular photos that are o...
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Four!

Melinda C. posted an article on - May 9, 2010, 5:51 pm
But after awhile, finally, we did turn around and head back home, walking west on Avenue P. (For the beginning of this story, see “Reflections.”) As we passed an old two-story home, I noticed a woman standing out in her front yard with a garden hose, idly watering some newly planted mari...
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Reflections

Melinda C. posted an article on - May 9, 2010, 2:53 pm
Well, it’s Mother’s Day. I’m not one, and I lost mine 11 years ago, so there’s not much to celebrate here. But the weather this morning seemed pleasant enough for a walk, thanks to overcast skies and a slight, cool breeze, so I leashed up my faithful companion, Tippy, and we ...
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Lafitte's treasure

Melinda C. posted an article on - Apr 20, 2010, 8:47 pm
As my fellow beach-goers were packing up for the day and the sun was beginning to wane, what I found—finally, at last!—on the beach was worth more to me than all of Jean Lafitte’s long-buried bullion topped off by a winning Lotto ticket. Okay, that’s ridiculous. Gad! Just goe...
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Fisherman's Wharf? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Apr 14, 2010, 2:24 am
Okay, okay, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, one of the dishes we ordered, the Shrimp Scampi, was actually quite good—eight, count ‘em, eight! Jumbo Gulf shrimp sautéed in olive oil, white wine, shallots, garlic, and fresh herbs, served atop angel hair pasta in a creamy, garlic butter...
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The spice of life

Melinda C. posted an article on - Apr 13, 2010, 12:37 pm
Slightly embarrassed (not really) but undeterred, my little foodie warriors and I so craved more of the Oyster Bar Trash and Shrimp Cabo appetizers at Willie G’s that we decided to make a return trip two days later. This time our salivary glands were really working overtime so we decided to en...
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Grouper groupies

Melinda C. posted an article on - Apr 7, 2010, 10:51 pm
It all started as a single-minded quest for grouper. Actually, this whole short saga reminds me of a book I once read in elementary school called Search for a Living Fossil, a story about the discovery in 1938 of an ancient fish, thought to be long extinct, that just happened to turn up one day in
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Treat yourself to a real treat!

Melinda C. posted an article on - Apr 6, 2010, 11:59 pm
OMG (as we say so succinctly in Internet-speak)! Or, better yet, how about a good old-fashioned WOW! If you happen to be in the vicinity of the Strand and find yourself in the mood for a light yet sumptuous dinner, there’s only one place to go: Willie G’s at Pier 21 on the old downtown G...
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Galveston streetwalker

Melinda C. posted an article on - Mar 20, 2010, 2:37 pm
That would be me. (Had you fooled, didn’t I, with the raggedy old blue work shirt, denim peddle pushers, crew socks, and cheap Target athletic shoes? Ha!) But it’s not the tricks I’m interested in; it’s the Trube. And that would be Trube as in Trube House, at 1627 Sealy Avenu...
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Is somebody going to fix this ugly box or what?

Melinda C. posted an article on - Mar 16, 2010, 5:09 pm
Speaking for all civic-minded Galvestonians (and who better than me, I ask you), I demand an answer forthwith on the resolution of this blight upon our seawall. Or, put another way, where’s the money, Fertitta? I’ve not seen a single article in the paper about this issue since the last o...
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