Every Place In Moderation
On the bus from Kingwood to downtown Houston this morning with my wholly necessary plastic PJ’s jar filled with Community Coffee:
Middle-aged lady (MAL) sitting next to me: “Where’s PJs?”
Me: “Oh, that’s a famous coffee shop in New Orleans.”
MAL: “Is that where you are from? My husband and I are from Houma, but thank goodness, we moved to Houston in the early 80s. Have you relocated here?”
Me: “I’m in Houston temporarily along with my job. I work for [big oil company].”
MAL: “Oh! My son works for [one of our contractors], but thankfully, he moved out of there long before the storm. He’s an engineer and they wanted him here. Now, didn’t your company announce they are going back soon?”
Me: “Yes, we’re going back in waves. Our group is last.”
MAL: “What do you do? And why do you want to go back?”
Me: “I’m a geophysicist. And I want to go back because NO’s my home now and I don’t like forced evictions.”
MAL: “”OHHH, you’re a geophysi … and you want to go back?”
Me: “Yeah, why not? I’ll stay there until I decide to leave, but it will be my choice. Houston’s not bad in spots, but I don’t want to live here like this.”
MAL: “So, what do you think of your mayor’s chocolate comments?”
Me: (oh boy) “He always makes offhand remarks like that, but his heart is in the right place.”
MAL: “…”
Me: “I believe in a city’s power to self-equilibrate. If you need to be there and if the city needs you, you will go home, it doesn’t matter what color you are. Sure he didn’t have to say that, but he’s stressed out.”
MAL: “But, look at his lack of coordination and that of Blanco’s after the hurricane. It was Houston that took the stand and took in these people. They made the decision for Louisiana.”
Me: “I wouldn’t say Houston took the stand for all of New Orleans, or even Louisiana for that matter. They opened the doors of their shelters and sports arenas to their homeless neighbors which I expect we would have done for them. Besides, a lot of Houstonians want Katrina evacuees out now.”
MAL: (slightly hurt) “Well, it’s the crime and overpopulation and …”
Me: “Did Houston not foresee this? Besides, not all crime here ought to be blamed on out-of-towners.”
MAL: “…”
Me: “Why is it that the ones in shelters are highlighted, when there are a number of us professionals here putting money into your city? Lawyers, doctors, engineers, geophysicists …”
MAL: “You’re right. But, it took a lot of you 12-18 hours to leave Lousiana before Ivan and Katrina?”
Me: “Yeah, Ivan evacuation was a disaster for those who waited until the last minute. But, the one for Katrina was a lot better. Say, didn’t it take Houstonians 12-16 hours to go a few blocks before Rita?”
MAL: “This is true. We need a better way to do this.”
Me: “Everything in moderation. One thing or place cannot be the godsend or bane for everyone, all of the time. Every place in the world has its ups and downs, and we just have to be good neighbors.”
I know I’ve brought up this topic before, and that it’s equal parts nice, bearable, stressful and frustrating to live in Houston. However, right now, I just can’t live here any more in the capacity of temporary or exile, be it in my daily routine or the way people view me/us. Yes, the silver lining of the middle of February is almost within reach, but the final days of waiting are the slowest. As for me, I am a believer in the elastic quality of time. All I want is to come home and go about my life.
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I was in Houston until shortly before Christmas. The whole time I was there felt like a surreal waiting room ritual. When I finally moved back to the city, I felt the best I had since the storm. I had never felt so liberated to be in a place I proudly call home.
I just can’t live here any more in the capacity of temporary or exile.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I work for [large utility] and have been banished to Beaumont. Who knows if or when we’ll go back. Congrats on getting to go home in a few weeks.