It’s not an affair; it’s a relationship. April 13th is our 7-month anniversary, and we’re in it for the long-haul. We were instantly and irrevocably enmeshed the moment we met. He swept into my life unannounced and immediately changed its course. I dropped absolutely everything for him. He touched me emotionally, psychologically, financially, socially, and physically. All my senses were aroused, and for most of the past half-year, I’ve thought of him almost constantly. Because of him, I have felt my highest highs and my lowest lows. He has changed the way my friends see me and the choices I make about how I spend my time and who I spend it with. I have altered my job, moved my home, taken on new activities, rewritten my future, given him all my money and time. Some people have said I spend too much time on the things he’s introduced me to, but I don’t have a choice. In fact, he has in many ways shown me who my real friends are. He has put his handprint on my life and changed me… for good. I’m grateful to him, and in spite of it all and whatever happens, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy Anniversary, Ike. You sonofabitch.
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Copyright © 2009 Alice Melott
Essays by this author can also be read by joining http://www.facebook.com/alicethewriter.
Galveston After Ike 
#1 by Marie Garrett on April 9, 2009 - 8:10 pm
Well put, that sonaofabitch got me too, despite him everything is different but better and we are stronger.
#2 by Allison on April 9, 2009 - 8:53 pm
Great piece, Alice!
” Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. ”
Shakespeare
#3 by Laurie Bowman on April 9, 2009 - 10:14 pm
I have heard it said and believe it that we only grow to fruition by adversity and how we handle it.
I will say though that I rarely, no never, pray for patience!
#4 by J Roy Hall on April 10, 2009 - 8:40 am
Amen to that, Girl!
#5 by Cindy Krauss on April 10, 2009 - 9:24 am
I couldnt have said it better myself. I am so grateful for who and what I have in my life today. Pre-Ike I was in a very stale place, spending money and time on things that do not bring peace and contentment. Now, every moment and every penny are spent with a conscience. It’s funny how our lives are measured pre or post Ike. That is until the next life altering event……at least with this one, we are not alone.
#6 by Gay Pogue on April 10, 2009 - 6:59 pm
Alice, we have made many new friends as a result of Ike, including you. That is a blessing.
#7 by Melinda Cote on April 10, 2009 - 10:03 pm
Alice, your words resonate with me. And my heart is in tune with those battered and struggling Galveston spirits fighting through tears and exhaustion to start again, build anew.
I lost my young husband, two months’ shy of his 51st birthday, two agonizing years ago. We shared a small home-building business, gone now, too, without his experienced hand to shepherd it along. Unemployed now, with mounting debt and two properties that sit stale and unsold on a cold Seattle market, battling depression and hopelessness, and loneliness, the one spark that gives me new hope is, perhaps oddly to those that dwell there, Galveston.
I sit at my laptop, on a dreary April afternoon, dreaming of Galveston, searching for new information, searching the local MLS, searching for my new home. I am a native Texan, homeward bound now, but not back to dusty Dallas from where I began. No, this time I’m coming home to Galveston.
Galveston understands my pain and I hers. We will help each other.
#8 by CJ on April 11, 2009 - 8:59 am
Sonofabitch, indeed … a bittersweet anniversary that whacked the axis of my world right upside the head. Many new things to be grateful for, even though I fought them every step of the way. Thanks, Ike … and f**k you, Ike!
#9 by Laurie Csuy on April 17, 2009 - 9:12 am
Alice,
Although far removed from Ike and it’s nasty remnants (we moved from Houston a month before the SOB hit), I can totally sense the devastation it left on you and many others throughout your stories. I absolutely LOVE your style of writing. From the looks of things, YOUR blog generates the most responses at Channel 2. Hopefully, they put you on the payroll from the beginning! 🙂
#10 by amelott on April 20, 2009 - 6:47 pm
Thanks for the kind words, Laurie. No, I’m not on the payroll — this is a labor of love, so to speak. A writer has to write, even if it’s on a cocktail napkin or back of a hand. But who knows? If enough readers weigh in, and bring value to the advertisers, maybe that will change… Hear that, guys? You could help jump-start the Galveston economy through me… ;c)
#11 by Laurie Csuy on April 21, 2009 - 9:49 am
Keep up the great work, Alice. You’re obviously a witty and reassuring soul to those long-time acquaintances and newfound friends! 🙂
#12 by Felix on July 6, 2012 - 11:26 am
Alice: There is no substitute for happiness. How we all should celebrate that special gift that comes along and sets all priorities in place. Yesterday the choir did three settings of the mass: Brittan; Durufle; Longlais. More beautiful than ever, the place was electric with all the emotions that a person can experience. Guest Organist, Nathan Laube, younger than the morning, was unbelievable in the accompaniment. I thought of your words about singing here and the memory brought me close to you all over again in all the things that we shared. Thanks
#13 by Holly on July 6, 2012 - 11:28 am
Reminds me of how I felt when I wrote Hurricane Ike “Off Topic”.
Is it odd to think that there are kids, today, who were born AFTER 9/11, who are now older than my son was ON 9/11?
My daughter and I volunteered together at the Astrodome after Katrina; we all took shelter at the Westin during Rita; but my son’s only strong memories of a hurricane are from Ike?
Time moves on. But some moments are indelibly marked on the hearts and minds of people who experienced them. Others weren’t directly affected and will NEVER get it.