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FOG-COLD...Fog-Cold...fog-cold...etc.

FOG-COLD…Fog-Cold…fog-cold…etc.

March, 2019:I really want to go outside and do something without being cold or wet, or both. The fog and alternate cold pattern is getting old. The fog is caused by the warmer south-southeast winds blowing over the cold water causing the temperature of the air to cool to the dew-point. As long as the bay water is colder than the overriding air(moisture laden) and the winds are light the fog will…

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The Ghost of San Leon

1 CHAPTER

 You wake up in the middle of a hot night, sweating. But then you remember it is mid-winter and the snow is on the ground. You sit up in bed and see a semi-transparent figure sitting next to your bed, looking at you with a sly but benevolent smile. The figure is a nerdy looking teen age boy with thick black rimmed glasses. Rubbing your eyes you look down at your thin plaid blanket then back at the figure. It is still there by your bed but it fades away. You look at the door of your bedroom in the dark, lit only by the alarm clock’s light. The apparition is gone. Your door is closed and you assume you were still dreaming, although the dream goes unrecalled. Strange, maybe that second egg-nog and rum mixed with a semi-dream state created a temporary hallucination. You lie back down on your pillow, closing your eyes. Opening your eyes cautiously to look in the direction of your hallucination to make sure nothing is there, you go back to sleep.

Many people believe in ghosts, more than one might expect. In a recent survey of 1000 random people about 45% believe. Those are people who said they believe that ghosts, or spirits of the dead, can come back in certain places and situations, according to the 2012 data. Some 32% also said ghosts or spirits can hurt living people, while 43% said ghosts (if they are real) are harmless.

     While I consider myself a scientific sort, the nerdy glasses-wearing ghost described above might have been one of my visitors. I try to keep an open mind about the ‘spiritual nature’ of the universe, after all, we still don’t know everything. The smartest people on earth several hundred years ago thought the earth was the center of the universe and eccentric old ladies on the outskirts of town were witches in league with the devil. Talk of Satan or the devil leads one to think of Heaven and Hell. If heaven is ruled by Gods or God then Hell must surely be the domain of a fallen angel like Satan or other entities with names like Loki, Amon, or Beelzebub. The ancients believed that heaven was the domain of the skies with Hell in the depths of earth. Where ghosts come into play would be a question of whether or not the heavens allowed spirits to visit the land of the living. Why would a spirit wish to leave the fragrant beauty of an otherworldly paradise to come to the land of sinners and unpredictable human desires. On the other hand a demon conscripted to Hell might want a little vacation from the fiery tortures of everlasting damnation.

     As religion gave way to science sometime during the later Renaissance many came to question the old Biblical notion of heaven and hell. Scientist began to describe the world in a way that seemed to be magic at first. Alchemists could create fantastic metals out of dirt. Is this not godlike? Other impressive technological feats became more common and many standard ideas that held sway for hundreds of years were disproved. Man realized that he could actually learn and improve on his lot and the old ways were not infallible. The Christian religion began to split into various factions (Catholics-Protestants for example) as the Pope and other Catholics became corrupted by power and money. Through all this upheaval ghosts were still around. What did the ghosts think of all these silly humans and their attempts to understand the world and the universe in terms of religion or science? Did the oldest ghost have a different outlook than a younger ghost? Was the first ghost an orangutan, chimpanzee, Neanderthal, Homo erectus, or one of us; Homo Sapiens? What is the ‘physical’ nature of a ghost?

Amrak, the Karankawan, will attempt to explain much of it to the recently deceased, Trisha Niles. Amrak has been assigned to mentor Trisha through the complexities of the afterlife and to make sure she stays in Heaven, at least the actual version of it that will be revealed.

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Political ads, bacteria, and rain.....

Political ads, bacteria, and rain…..

September (near the end): There are lots of things getting under my skin these days and I hope bacteria is not one of them. There has been lots of rain this month and the bacteria levels are high. The map above shows dots where water sampling has been done by various Galveston Bay volunteers (I take the San Leon samples) and the red dots show areas where the bacteria levels were unsafe for human…

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Outdoor Life in San Leon has officially been canceled till further notice. Thank God the TIKI BAR is open!

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Is Fall being Delayed?

Is Fall being Delayed?

September 12:  I need something to take my mind off the weather. Being stuck inside for days is getting old. I go outside and an army of mosquitoes attacks. Mowing the yard is impossible because of the rain but if I could ants would then join the mosquitoes in a coordinated mission to drive me back inside. Where is that first refreshing, cool, dry and invigorating cool front?

Looking at various…

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The Ghost of San Leon

I feel there are many ghosts in this little town on the shores of Galveston Bay. Some real, some imagined. I have been thinking about writing a novel about them, but one ghost in particular, Amrak. Amrak is a character in one of my earlier novels; an Indian, a chief, an innovator, leader of a unique tribe which created a peaceful (at first) Utopia on the shores of what is now called San Leon, before it was a ‘little fishing town with a big drinking problem’. My ghosts know no time or space yet may have influence on the living in subtle ways. Look for the first chapter in the late Fall. 

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Build a Wall?

June 27, 2018:  Summer has officially started and things are heating up. My mind is perhaps addled by the heat but I have been thinking San Leon needs a wall.  It would not have to be too long, a couple miles at most. I have never been too sure about where the boundaries are for San Leon so we would have to make sure not to include any of Texas City or Bacliff behind the ‘Wall’. Maybe we could…

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Enjoy the longest day all you pagans!

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Hurricanes and Summer!

May 25, 2018:  Hurricane season ‘officially’ starts June 1st. Mother Nature does not always honor our statistically determined start and end dates as last year demonstrated with an April storm. This year we may not get an early storm in the Atlantic Basin (which includes the Gulf of Mexico) unless a disturbance forms in the Gulf this Memorial Day weekend. The map above shows what a model…

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Weather Extremes: The New Normal and San Leon Mud

February, 2018:  November around the Bay was warm (Degree Days cooling 5.0, Degree Days heating 2.5).  December came along (Degree Days cooling .6, Degree Days heating 11.7). Degree Daysis a measure of energy used for either cooling or heating. For November, twice as much energy was used for cooling as heating (5.0 vs 2.5). For December much more energy was used for heating and this continued…

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I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain.

I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain.

December 8,2017:  If you have watched the news lately you have probably seen the hell-fire Santa Anna winds blowing down upon Los Angeles. The beginning days of December have brought the Galveston Bay area lots of rain and today I guess you could change the lyrics to James Taylor’s song to ‘I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain, and SNOW‘.  I woke up early this morning in San Leon to see a light…

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Clearing Water and MUD

Clearing Water and MUD

San Leon

October, 2017:  Fall is somewhere, maybe up North. Later this week, before Halloween, the folks in San Leon and the Bay area will get some cooler weather, as a front is blowing in Sunday with a vengeance.  Galveston’s annual Octoberfest is coming up and it always seems better with a nip in the air. Cool dry weather always goes best with a German beer and some brats. The Bay water has…

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Hurricane Karma and the Salt of San Leon

Hurricane Karma and the Salt of San Leon

September, 2017: Unlike the story in my third San Leon novel, Hurricane Karma and the Salt of San Leon, hurricane Harvey did not bring exceptional good luck to one popular member of our little community, nor did it bring much salt.  San Leon was lucky, especially compared to some of our neighbors in Dickinson or Friendswood. We had some isolated flooding but no significant storm surge or high…

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Taxes and Temperature Going Up

Taxes and Temperature Going Up

July, 2017:   A couple weeks ago there were several tropical systems following the hot orange water temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic. The tropics are in a temporary lull now as the local weather settles into the typical hot, humid, July pattern. Property taxes seem to keep heating up as well; the last three years mine went up 42%, 37%, and 34%. Wow, that would be great if I wanted to…

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Taxing times in Galveston County

Taxing times in Galveston County

  May 11, 2017: As spring turns into fall along the Bay fishing starts to heat up, people get outdoors more often, and the yearly property tax appraisals start showing up.  I was unpleasantly surprised last year when my property value was appraised 37% higher than the previous year.  I foolishly assumed this would probably be the end for increases of that magnitude when along came this year’s…