A fried egg with a runny yolk and cooked whites is lying on a sandy surface.

July: Just when you thought…


By Forest Riggs

If you have ever wanted to test that old saying about it being “hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk,†now is the time. Hot sidewalks, hot beaches, hot parking lots, hot current affairs — it’s all hot, hot, hot!

July started with a vengeance and, if the Island’s favorite meteorologist Frank Billingsley and others are correct, we are in for even greater heat and stifling humidity as the summer grows long. As Shirley Q. Liquor would say, “Hunneeeee….I sho’ need to get my corn starch!

Galvestonians love to joke that they all have beautiful, smooth skin thanks to the natural “moisturizing†humidity. There may be something to this, but right now others and I would take a few wrinkles to be cooler!

Hot weather is good for a lot of things like going to the beach, working on tans, crabbing, cooking out with friends, sweaty tea dances and even growing okra. It is also good for the HVAC folks that are running to and fro on the island to make repairs, charge systems and install cooling units. Understandably they charge a bit more in the summer months. Who in their right mind wants to climb around in hot attics and under old houses in this heat and horrible humidity. We joke about prostitutes making a living by the “sweat of their loins†however these AC folks are the ones that are really making a living by their sweat.

There are many industries and business that do better in the summer and warmer months, especially on Galveston Island. This little bar island in the Gulf loves tourists and all they bring to the local scene and economy. Beaches draw visitors like flies to honey during the summer. Lines are longer, traffic is a mess and ferry waits can take hours, literally.

And Galveston’s fantastic LGBTQ community welcomes visitors and friends for some memory-making good times. You just can’t go wrong by stepping into any of the three LGBTQ clubs on the island. Robert’s Lafitte, Rumors and 23rd St. Station Piano bar are usually full during the summer months, each offering something unique and special.

Rumors offers fantastic shows, a view to die for and an interior that screams good times. Lafitte’s, a long-time LGBTQ institution, offers a huge party atmosphere in a small package, a tropical patio and an inviting pool, not to mention weekly drag shows performed in the “old school†style. 23rd Street Piano bar has become the live music spot for the LGBTQ community and with its tropical patio bar, friendly staff and new look inside, makes patrons feel like they are part of the neighborhood.

Don’t forget, there are a few “stray†bars around, too. Galveston clubs are pretty laid back and really no one cares who or what you are, as long as you behave and have a good time!

A different storm

Anyone that follows the news knows the LGBTQ community and lifestyle is under attack. It is disheartening to read, listen and see the latest steps the current administration is taking to make “different†people less than second-class citizens. Personally, I don’t like talking politics or religion, but somewhere along the way the two got intertwined and with bastardized version of each.

Health care, science, the environment, education — all have been hijacked by right wing, nut-case ideology. Members of every LGBTQ community must stand together and stand hard, making our wishes and voices known. Write letters, make calls and gather when you can to support worthy issues. The damages now being dumped on Americans will take years, possibly generations, to correct. Stuff is happening that runs far deeper than a few “presidential†signed items that make for a great photo op and placate the right-wing masses.

Super conservative, right wing nuthatches are in charge of many programs and institutions where they are making cuts, terminations and bad decisions based on personal bias and twisted theology. The folks that are suffering the most are the ones that Mr. Trump is not going to benefit from in any fashion or form. The time for action is now, not after we have been stripped of our rights.

Be safe, be active and for goodness sake, be an informed voter.

Forest Riggs, a resident of Galveston, is no stranger to the adventures of life. A former educator and business owner, he enjoys Island life and all that comes with it. He says he is a “raconteur with a Quixotic, gypsy spirit.†He has written for several newspapers and magazines as well as other writing pursuits, including a novel and collection of short stories.

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