CULTURE
CULTURE CLASH (Be a Better Human)
CLASH a venue for Galveston’s free thinkers
G - Town
ast o c d ir h t dirty
Texas
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table of contents Issue 2 (Jan/Feb 2018)
FEATURES
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PUBLISHER Janese Maricelli-Thomasson LAYOUT & DESIGN JanMar Agency
28 People of Galveston
DEPARTMENTS
CONTRIBUTORS Jessica Antonelli • Robin Collins Juan Gonzalez • Dan Marks • Janese Maricelli Sara Ramirez • David Redman • Leslie Whaylen
Be A Better Human 7 Look Where We’ve Found Ourselves
MAKE A CONNECTION
For ad rates or personalized marketing strategies, call us at 409.502.8221
The Heavy Hearted Environmentalist
10 The Destructive Life
Express Yourself
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13 Boycott the Bullshit
#TBMG (Throw Back My Galveston) 19 Gritty Galveston
Coolture 22 BOI Author 23 Pulse Events Calendar 25 20 Hours in Istanbul
C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
CL AS H maga z ine
14 Just Another Mexican
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CULTURE
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CHECK US OUT
facebook.com\CultureClashMag CultureClashGalveston.com cultureclashgalveston@gmail.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Please mail check payable to JanMar Agency • 1625 23rd St Galveston Tx 77550 In the amount of $24 Note “Culture Clash” in memo line
*This magazine is NOT printed on recycled paper or with soy-based inks YET! But we are working on it. Help us get there, advertise or sponsor us. Email for more details CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com
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WHAT IS DIRTY THIRTY? G-Town Texas, the unofficial ‘Dirty Third
Coast’! Say it loud and say it proud. The phrase “third coast” has been a jewel in the hip-hop community and has seeped its way into pop-culture. The cool thing is, we here in Galveston get to live it-erryday!
G - Town
coast dirty third
Texas
“Dirty” because our Gulf waters are brown. “Dirty” because our city is a bit funky compared to some other coastal towns. Or maybe “Dirty” because we know how to get down and dirty! Third because we are not the East Coast or West Coast but the Third Coast (the leftovers). Regardless of why or how, we here in Galveston are fortunate to claim Galvy as our own bohemian enclave. It is because we are so dirty third coast, we have a lower, more attainable standard of living. This allows artists and free-thinkers to thrive in our historic city and that translates into a rich, cultural mecca for all to enjoy! Soak it in and ROCK ON with yo’ bad self!
Write us an email or shoot us a comment any time online: facebook.com/CultureClashMag CultureClashGalveston.com CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com Janese Maricelli-Thomasson Publisher & Bad Ass
CONSIDERATIONS:
The Nov/Dec 2017 issue Table of Contents should have reflected Pat McGrew and her article titled, “Eco Echo.”
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c u ltu r ec l a s h G ALV ESTO N . c o m • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
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be a better
You already know! Your actions matter. Your voice matters. Be better, do better. Be the change you want to see in the world. Start Now!
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Photo by: Lalesh Aldarwish
human
CULTURE CLASH (Be a Better Human)
Look Where We’ve Found Ourselves
Recently I interviewed a woman, nicknamed here as Maria to protect
her privacy, who contracted herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) from her partner 6 years ago. It was only after she got pregnant, was encouraged by him to have an abortion, and she obliged – that she had her first outbreak of genital herpes. HER BODY WAS WAY STRESSED OUT, AND IT REACTED. For many people with HSV-2, the first outbreak is often the worst. And like many people with HSV2, Maria’s boyfriend didn’t know he had it, or at least that’s what he told her. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 90% of infected persons in the U.S. with HSV-2 don’t know they have it.
By Leslie Whaylen
Fast forward to today and back to Maria, she and her partner are no longer together, and Maria is aching to move on with her love life. Much has changed in the dating scene since 2011 when she contracted HSV-2, including several different phone apps that hook people up with each other. While genital infection is more easily transmitted from men to women than from women to men, and even though HSV-2 is fairly common (1 in 5 women have it), Maria wanted to “Be A Better Human”, and to be upfront on the dating app she uses. Because, as she said, “When is it a good time to say, ‘By the way, I have a STD (sexually transmitted disease)’? After the first date? Or after you’re emotionally attached? There is never a good time.” So Maria stepped up and she stepped out and wrote her profile on the dating app to read, “Just trying this business out....I have HSV-2. Just putting that out there. I’m not trying to hide anymore. I know I’m not the only one. I’m just an easy going lady who loves the ocean and having a good time, whether it’s a good book or a dance party.”
My friend Maria has placed herself in a vulnerable position. By being honest and disclosing her HSV-2 infection, she risks shame and guilt, adding to what already feels like an emotionally debilitating STD. Three men stopped communicating with her after reading her profile, but she recently met someone through the app who read it, and took her out on a fabulous first date. Maria is a brave woman, and she is teaching us all how to be a better human. With her courage and initiative, perhaps the social stigma of HSV-2 will decrease in its negativity. Thank you, Maria. Her example challenges us, Culture Clash readers in the dating world, to be more forth coming with STD knowledge. Know before you go! Only through communication and truth can we slow down this epidemic. Send us a private message via Facebook or email us with your stories. CultureClashMag@gmail.com HSV-2 is highly contagious but transmitted only by direct contact (mouth and genitals). You cannot get it from touching surfaces (e.g., toilets), even if they were used by an infected person. HSV-2 is most contagious during a genital herpes outbreak, when sores are present. However, the virus can spread even when no genital herpes sores are present and the skin looks normal. The only fail-safe method to prevent genital herpes is to either abstain from sex, or have sex with a single partner whose test results show s/he is infection-free. If you or your sexual partner has HSV-2 or HSV-1 (which can also cause genital herpes), you can reduce the risk of spreading the virus with several methods including: 1) using a latex condom every time you have sex; 2) avoiding sexual contact during active herpes outbreaks; and 3) taking suppressive antiviral herpes medications.
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CULTURE CLASH (Be a Better Human)
The Heavy Hearted Environmentalist
By Culture Clash Staff
Sad, sorrowful, downcast, glum; all wonderful words to
describe today’s environmental outlook on the world. I for one am not comfortable with the future Al Gore and Michael Moore have painted for me. The polar ice caps are melting and plastic particles are clogging our oceans, infiltrating everything. But the sky is blue, the view from Galveston is great and it is a beautiful time to be alive, right? As a Texas girl born and bred, I take great pride in this diverse state; the rivers, lakes and Gulf. I feel a connection with nature and the earth. So it is no surprise that respecting and protecting the planet is ingrained in everything I do, every day of my life. I wake up on a second-hand mattress, so it wouldn’t be lost to a landfill. My family runs on solar and wind power at home and we compost even the most minute table scraps. We bike, shop local, eat plant based, you name it!
Of course for me and many others, the aforementioned always seems to be coupled with the stress load of living a modern day lifestyle; the kids, career, school, lawn, dinner, etc. So the original good deed becomes more of a resentful task. But alas, tomorrow is another day and the overall goal is not lost for good.
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What peeves you about being environmentally responsible? How do you cope? Write us at CultureClashGalveston@ gmaill.com
Truth be told, there will always be another plastic bag floating down Ave. S. Perhaps if I take a run through next Monday, I can make up for my twenty-four hour hiatus.
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Stock imagery provided by ShutterStock.com
But sometimes being responsible is really overwhelming. Like when your recycling is taking over your entire life and you have various bins for paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, Styrofoam, batteries, need I go on. You get so frustrated you resolve to just throw anything additional into the trash with hopes you can sort and deliver your burden to the EcoCenter tomorrow. Icing on the cake – a likeminded friend drops by just as you toss some unnecessary product packaging right into the garbage can clearly labeled TRASH ONLY.
in the know Galveston ECO Center 702 61st Street | Mon. - Sun 8 a.m. - 4:45 PM Now offering 24 hour drop-off!
Refrigerators, Air Conditioners (Must Remove Compressor) Stoves, Washers, Dryers, & all other Appliances Bottle Glass Only • All Types of Paper • Cardboard All Scrap Metals • Aluminum 5 Tires per Week – Proof of Residency Required Used Gas, Used Oil, and Antifreeze Printer Ink Cartridges 1-9 Plastics except #6* * Please Place All Plastic Bags in One Bag Computers and All Electronics – Proof of Residency Required Automotive Batteries and Rechargeable Batteries All Styrofoam (Please Remove all Food) Cell Phones HOME COLLECTION OF RECYCLABLES TO ELDERLY AND DISABLED RESIDENTS.
Congrats to Galveston Island Brewing for bringing home a medal from Great American Beer Festival ®. Bronze for Blue Bridge Hoppy Amber in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale! You guys deserve it.
Fun Photography for Everyone
Maricelli Photography
Sending Big Love From All of Us At
CULTURE
CLASH C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
$85
1 hour 2 locations
facebook.com/ MaricelliPhotography 9
CULTURE CLASH (Be a Better Human)
The destructive of a Mardilife Gras bead Excerpts from David Redmon
Shiny, colorful bead necklaces are now synonymous with Mardi Gras, but they
weren’t always, and maybe it’s time for a change. Plastic bead necklaces, provided cheaply by China, were introduced only in the late 1970s when self-expression was the rage. Today, 25 million pounds get distributed each year. Yet they pose a danger to people and the environment. David Redmon is the author of Beads, Bodies, and Trash: Public Sex, Global Labor, and the Disposability of Mardi Gras (http://amzn. to/2AE2koo) and also the documentary film producer of Mardi Gras: Made in China (http:// bit.ly/2iE1G27). David spent several years researching the circulation of these plastic beads. Beneath the sheen of the beads is a story that’s far more complex — one that takes place in the Middle East, China and the United States, and is symptomatic of a consumer culture built on waste, exploitation and toxic chemicals.
“It’s part of the WASTE CULTURE we have where materials pass briefly through our lives and then are dumped some place.” 10
In the 1970s, an environmental scientist named Howard Mielke was directly involved in the legal efforts to phase out lead in gasoline. Today, at Tulane University’s Department of Pharmacology, he researches the links between lead, the environment and skin absorption in New Orleans. Mielke mapped the levels of lead in various parts of the city, and discovered that the majority of lead in the soil is located directly alongside the Mardi Gras parade routes, where krewes (the revelers who ride on the floats) toss plastic beads into the crowds. His concern is the collective impact of the beads thrown each carnival season, which translates to almost 4,000 pounds of lead hitting the streets. “If children pick up the beads, they will become exposed to a fine dusting of lead,” Mielke told me. “Beads obviously attract people, and they’re designed to be touched, coveted.” And then there are the beads that don’t get taken home. By the time Mardi Gras is over, thousands of shiny necklaces litter the streets, and partiers have collectively produced roughly 150 tons of waste — a concoction of puke, toxins and trash. Milke said, “It’s part of the waste culture we have where materials pass briefly through our lives and then are dumped some place.” In other words: out of sight, out of mind. Also, independent research on beads collected from New Orleans parades found toxic levels of lead, bromine, arsenic, phthalate plasticizers, halogens, cadmium, chromium, mercury and chlorine on and inside the beads. C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
Photos provided by carnivalesquefilms.com
The celebratory atmosphere in Galveston (and other cities such as New Orleans) couldn’t be more different from the grim factories in the Fujian province of China, where teenage girls work around the clock making and stringing together the green, purple and gold beads. No one is spared; the child on the streets of Galveston innocently sucking on his new necklace and young factory workers in China are both exposed to the same neurotoxic chemicals.
How can this cycle be broken? Is there any way out? In recent years, a company called Zombeads created throws with organic, biodegradable ingredients (although they don’t seem to be in business currently). That’s one step in the right direction. What about going a step further and rewarding local factories that could make these beads with tax breaks and federal and state subsidies, which would give them incentives to sustain operations, hire people, pay them fair living wages, all while limiting environmental degradation? A scenario like this could reduce the rates of cancers caused by styrene, significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help create local manufacturing jobs in the Gulf states. Let us know your ideas, Culture Clash readers!
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ah, Hey Br a kook e b ’t n do i Gras, d r a M on ! recycle
BY: JACOB ELLIS 11
Yourself
As Dr. Dre said,
“I’m expressing with my full capabilities And now I’m living in correctional facilities Cause some don’t agree with how I do this I get straight and meditate like a Buddhist”
Got something to say? Go on and say it! Express yourself -CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com
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Album art provided by Charles Wright Charles Wright And the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
express
CULTURE CLASH (Express Yourself)
BOYCOTT THE
BULLSHIT
Excerpts from Celia Cole Illustration by Annie Leonard
The Untied States of America is the king of consumption, we take consumerism to a whole new level! My favorite former Greenpeace activist and documentarian, Annie Leonard, created a YouTube video entitled, THE STORY OF STUFF, that outlines the problem. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. Consumption isn’t always the problem but rather consumerism. Consumerism is always bad, adding little to our wellbeing as well as being disastrous for the planet. “[It’s] a particular strand of overconsumption, where we purchase things, not to fulfil our basic needs, but to fill some voids about our lives and make social statements about ourselves,” Leonard explains. “It turns out our stuff isn’t making us any happier,” she argues. Our obsessive relationship with material things is actually jeopardizing our relationships, “Which are proven over and over to be the biggest determining factor in our happiness [once our basic needs are met].” Leonard calls upon wider research to argue the sociological and psychological consequences of our all-consuming epidemic, including that of Tim Kasser and Robert Putman. Kasser identified a connection between an excessively materialistic outlook and increased levels of anxiety and depression, while Putman argues we’re paying the ultimate price for our consumeristic tendencies with the loss of friendships, neighborly support and robust communities. Together they suggest we are witnessing nothing short of the collapse of social fabric across society. Part of the problem, according to Leonard, is our confused sense of self. We’ve allowed our citizen self to be dwarfed by a relatively new reflex action – consume, consume, consume. “Our consumer self is so overdeveloped that we spend most of our time there. You see it walking around – we usually interact with others from our consumer self and are most spoken to as our consumer self. The problem is that we are so comfortable there that when we’re faced with really big problems [like climate change], we think about what to do as individuals and consumers: ‘I should buy this instead of this.’ “If you’re going to vote with your dollar that’s fine,” Leonard says. “But you need to remember that Exxon has a lot more dollars than you. We need to vote with our votes; re-engage with the political process and change the balance of power so that those who are looking out for the wellbeing of the planet dominate, instead of those who are just looking out for the bottom line.”
This year the Culture Clash crew invites you to evaluate your consumption. Let’s make 2018 the year Galveston’s footprint started getting smaller. What can you pare down? What can you eliminate? Focus money on experiences and culture, spend more time with people- face to face. If you need something, ask for it. Check out these resources for FREE STUFF when needed. BUY NOTHING GALVESTON
GALV. COUNTY BUY•SALE•TRADE
FREE CRAIGSLIST
No sales or barted allowed! facebook.com/groups/408706045921674/
Anything Goes. https://www.facebook.com/ Galveston-County-Buy-Sell-TradeTx-286908134848142/
ALL FREE ALL THE TIME https://galveston.craigslist.org/d/freestuff/search/zip
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SHARE YOU THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON THE 13 TOPIC, VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: facebook.com/CultureClashMag
CULTURE CLASH (Feature)
JJuusstt AAnnootthheerr
Mexican
f o f f f o o f g f n o i v LLiiving
YYoouurr TTaaxx DDoollllaarrss
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e can be no …I’ll be fine. I didn’t do it so ther I am a citizen, a me. st arre to on evidence and no reas ent and a worker. I am vet, a father, a husband, a stud I have been guilty of est, hon not a criminal. Well, to be ’s not what this is about. that but s, law c traffi bending a few I’ll be fine. a little worried now. I’ll ...How did I get arrested? I am and they will realize that it’s be fine though. I am innocent let me go. I need to get and s day a mistake in a couple of is a and work. It’s obvious that this back to my kids, wife, school, mistake, I’ll be fine. $100,000 Bond!? I am a disabled …What the hell is happening!? I school, and raising kids. How am vet working part time, going to Talk rt? cou l ey to get free unti supposed to pay this much mon have to pay 10% of my bond only I say. they n dma to a bails bon s $10,000 in my savings for a bail e hav ’t to get out. Is that a joke? I don to ted rela am or w don’t even kno bondman! I have no savings! I court that! I’ll have to sit in jail until my like ngs savi has who e eon som date. I plead they talking about? Why would …Plea bargain deal? What are C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
Stock imagery provided by ShutterStock.com
Juan Gonzales 01983619 Texas Department O f Criminal Just ice
By Juan Gonzales
guilty when I didn’t do anything? Yes, I understand that it’s the fastest way that I will get out and that if I don’t plead out, the judge will go for the maximum sentence for insisting on a trial, but I didn’t do it! How can I get convicted for something I didn’t do? Is making a plea deal the best advice a court appointed attorney can give me? No, I won’t plead guilty. No, wait! Don’t reschedule my court date! …One month, two months, four months, six months, nine months. I’ve lost my school, job, wife, kids, and friends. It’s time for my trial and I will finally be exonerated and released to begin trying to piece my life back together. I’ll be fine. Right? I’ve talked to my court appointed lawyer twice for about fifteen minutes total, but I didn’t do it so there’s no evidence, so it should be easy for him to show that. It’s his job to fight for me. OK, so he’s a bit late. I’ll be fine. Wait, there he is, drinking coffee and joking with the prosecuting attorneys in the back of the courtroom. They must know each other, that’s a good thing for me, right? I’ll be fine. C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
…I don’t understand, what does showing a preponderance of evidence mean? One person’s testimony against me is a preponderance of evidence but my testimony isn’t? What happened to proof beyond all shadow of a reasonable doubt? What happened to physical evidence? How is one person’s word against mine proof? Why don’t I need my own witnesses again? What do you mean you can’t question the witness for the purpose of perjuring them? Because it would make our side look bad to the jury? Excuse me sir, I know that you are my lawyer, but are you on my side? I don’t feel so fine. … Guilty!? How am I guilty? I didn’t do anything! Twenty years!? But I didn’t do anything! What do 15
CULTURE CLASH (Feature)
you mean don’t worry there’s always the appeal system. How long does that take? Years!? A conviction rarely gets overturned but at least I have a chance? Are you kidding me right now, Mr. Court appointed lawyer? Don’t worry? I’m eligible for parole after serving half of my sentence? But I didn’t do anything!! Here I sit in TDCJ. the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Where is the justice? I am now a criminal. Not by anything that I did but by the decision of a system that ironically is supposed to protect us. Instead, it seems designed to bulldoze as many people as possible into convictions and incarceration. I hate to say that race has anything to do with it, but when I look around me in prison, I see many shades of brown and black and very little white. What I do know to be a common factor amongst most of us in here is financial status. We are all poor or come from poor families. Many here are innocent, many are guilty, many are brown, many are black, but almost all are poor.
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The criminal justice system in this country is broken. More so in some states than others, but broken in all. It is a system in which success is measured in convictions. Once accused you are on a treadmill to prison. Guilt is presumed until innocence is proven. In many cases, such as mine, a simple accusation is enough for an arrest. Once arrested, it becomes a matter of money. A bond is meant to assure the court that you have an incentive to return to court for trial and there are rules that are meant to prevent excessive bond amounts. Unfortunately it takes time and money to prove that a bond is excessive. Instead of the amount being set on each person’s financial situation, they are set by a judge, automatically based on the crime accused of and the judge’s mood that day. It has become a tool to keep poor people locked up and to pressure them into signing a plea bargain. Trial can be months or even years away. Being locked up, an accused person is in danger of
C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
losing their job and even their family. You want to go home? Plead guilty and get probation. If you insist on your innocence and want a trial, well then be prepared to wait. They ask you if you want to make a plea deal repeatedly as you grow more desperate in jail, watching the life you built slip away. Cars, homes, jobs, all are lost while you wait for trial. You can’t work, pay bills, take care of your family, or even prepare a defense from jail. You can hire a lawyer. They are not in any way cheap and it will cost many thousands of dollars for one to even take on your case. That is no guarantee that they will keep you as their client all the way until the trial though. Many do as my lawyer did and find some way to withdraw as your counsel once your family runs out of money to keep paying them. I thought all the jokes about shady and untrustworthy lawyers were just jokes. It turns out that they are pretty accurate. A court appointed lawyer is meant to fight for those who can’t afford a lawyer. They often don’t even look at your case until trial though. They spend no time preparing a defense and don’t even talk to you while you wait for trial. The few times they do see you, it’s to bring you a plea bargain offer from the district attorney, which they advise you to take. They seem to be working for the prosecutor and try to scare you into pleading guilty. My lawyer hadn’t even read my case or asked for my story before advising me to plead guilty. Once he had seen that I had no interest in pleading guilty, he stopped visiting me. He never took or returned any of my calls or letters. I sent him lists of people to witness for me, pointed out contradictions in the one witness against me, statements, and motives the witness had for accusing me. I never even received any conformation that the lawyer C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
had received any of it. Once I got to trial and asked him, he didn’t even seem to know what I was talking about. He spent more time huddling and talking to the prosecutors before court than he did to me talking about my case. This is apparently normal. If I had money I could have bonded out, kept working, hired and kept paying a lawyer, prepared my defense, and kept my life. I don’t, so I didn’t. Here I sit, broken hearted, my free life ended, and my convict life started. (Wise words written above a prison cell toilet.) But wait you say, what happened is an exception to the rule right? That rarely happens right? After talking to others and observing “the system” from this side, I’m sorry to say that it happens all too often. A wise man once said that it is better to free 100 guilty than convict 1 innocent. That is no longer true. There is a term “innocent until proven guilty”. That is no longer true. A line in our constitution states that a conviction must show “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” That is no longer true. I am innocent. I did not do what I was convicted of. I didn’t and it doesn’t matter because here I am. A “guest” of the great state of Texas in the land of the free known as The United States of America. I served our country in the military and am a disabled vet. I am now a convict. What happened to me can happen to anyone. Without going too much into detail about my case (I will save that for another time), I’ve told you what happened and how it happened to me. Life is like a rollercoaster in its twists and turns and sometimes it takes all you have to hang on and not blow chunks. It’s a hell of a ride but way too short, so it’s best to hold your hands above your head on the high parts and grip your seats on the low parts, but make the most of your ride. That’s what I’m doing. Life is still life in here behind these bars. There are a lot of stories behind these fences. A lot of them are funny, some of them are strange, many are sad. I’m going to try to tell you some of them. This is no movie. This is TDCJ. It’s kind of dangerous now, so make sure your safety bar is properly latched and hang on. Don’t look at anyone funny. We are catching chain on a bluebird to the farm… I’m your new Cellie, Lobo… to be continued… 17
throw back
my galveston #TBMG Stock imagery provided by Pexels.com
Life on this barrier island is always changing. It may be a glorius place now, but it wasn’t always so pretty. Send us your Gritty Galveston stories, CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com
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CULTURE CLASH (#TBMG (Throw Back My Galveston)
Running the
Stock imagery provided by Pexels.com
I was almost famous on three different occasions back in the late 70’s.
Gauntlet
Once, walking home from school, a white Continental approached, asking for directions. My sister stepped towards the street to answer the question, but immediately turned back as the car drove off. The driver, she said, hadn’t been wearing pants and was “excited” to reach his destination. Another time, walking home from a friend’s house at night, I was approached by a neighbor at the end of the block. I didn’t know him. He was sitting in his driveway and asked if I wanted to step around the side of the house to have some fun. I related this story to my father when I got home. “You probably didn’t understand what he said,” was the reply. Another boy in the neighborhood apparently DID understand what he said. After receiving the same proposition a few days later, he told his father and the neighbor got the ever-loving shit kicked out of him. Finally, riding Greyhound back to Texas from my grandfather’s in Ohio, a man, reeking of gasoline, got on in Lake Charles and sat next to me. After we crossed into Texas, he pulled up a blanket and started fondling my leg. I took a pencil from my pocket and stabbed him in the hand. He made no sound and didn’t complain. But he stood up and asked the driver to drop him off. I had hoped to turn him in when we arrived in Houston. Instead, he disappeared into the night somewhere alongside I-10. How the hell, you ask, would this have made me famous? I could have been the victim of a serial killer. These three examples match the M.O. of serial killers who have stalked I-45 since 1971. When you sit in bars and listen to stories about our island town, there are a couple things that stand out: Santos Cruz invented the Margarita for Peggy Lee in the Balinese Room; the Face on the Maurice Ewing Lab Building off Harborside Drive; and, the unsolved cases of the I-45 Killer. One suspect drawing attention recently is Edward Harold Bell. Bell, oddly, is serving time for the murder of Larry Dickens. Dickens confronted Bell as Bell exposed himself C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
By Dan Marks
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CULTURE CLASH (#TBMG (Throw Back My Galveston) to a group of teenage girls. Bell pulled out a .22 pistol and disabled Dickens, then went to his parked truck and retrieved a hunting rifle, using it to finish off Dickens. While in prison for that offense, he confessed to the murders of eleven girls, from 1971 to about 1977. He has talked to reporters and others, giving details that seem damning. But Galveston County has yet to indict Bell for those eleven murders. There is reason, some say, to think he might just be telling someone else’s story as his own. William Lewis Reece, however, is a little more convincing. Arrested for a rape and murder in Oklahoma, Reece led police to the bodies of two women taken from our little stretch of highway. His Galveston County crimes date from the late 90’s and include the murder of Jessica Cain. I can still remember her face from local billboards. Reece continues to cooperate with authorities in an attempt to avoid the Death penalty. Kevin Edison Smith was a contemporary of Reece. Like Reece, he was not immediately caught. It was, in fact, 16 years before DNA techniques would catch up to Smith’s 1996 crime. And Smith, like Reece, was apprehended out of state. Smith’s victim, unfortunately for him, was found less than four hours after her death, and the DNA evidence survived long enough to convict him even without his cooperation. As for the obvious gaps, there are others who have been suspected of contributing to the infamy of the Highway of Tears. From the son of a sheriff to a convict killed in an escape attempt, the cast of characters accumulates quickly. In 1972, Michael Self was tried and convicted for one of the murders. It was one of the murders to which Bell later confess in 1998. Self’s lawyer was never told about the confession, and Self died in prison in 2000. There was also a man who had recently moved in near the home of victim Laura Miller. Neighbors persecuted him until he moved away and committed suicide. He wasn’t even a suspect. This doesn’t even count homicidal all-stars like Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, who claimed to have hundreds of victims. I mention Lucas because, when his face appeared on TV after his arrest, it held a startling resemblance to the man who had sat next to me on the bus years earlier. Many of the suspects in these murders are serial sex offenders. According to statistics sited on the show Dark Minds, there are 21,000 sex offenders living somewhere along the Gulf Freeway. According to homefacts.com, there are only 548 in Galveston County and 7801 in all of Harris County as of this writing. Not sure where that 21,000 number comes from. But how many of those numbers are one-offs, and how many transients don’t even show up on the list? Statistics look good when you’re trying to prove a 20
point, but can you really quantify this problem. Our viewer mail from the last issue included a friend of Michele Grindberg. Michele was found at the Falstaff Brewery in September 2017 from an apparent suicide. Our hearts and prayers go out to her friends and family. I would like to reassure you that the “body” I briefly referred to was not hers. I wrote the Nov/Dec article back in May and was commenting on a man whose name wasn’t reported in the Daily News. It was presumed he died of natural causes and was assumed a transient. He didn’t even come up in a Google search. So is there a moral to this story? There are three I can think of: You live at the end of the road. A road which dead ends into the Gulf of Mexico. It has numerous bayous and tributaries that run through miles of undeveloped fields. It is a great place to lose things. Try not to lose things. You are one of millions of people along this road. It is a third world road in a growing community. Get to know some of them. Don’t let your only interaction with new people be road rage. I met a guy from Macedonia just yesterday. Macedonia is next to Greece. If you didn’t know that, go to the library. You might meet someone. Lastly, if you’ve never thought mental health a community issue, you’re living in a bubble. In Hawaii, juvenile delinquency is considered a health issue. The State funds their rehabilitation through their Dept. of Health, not the Dept. of Justice. Can we at least start to think about that? Wouldn’t his hundreds of victims have benefitted from Henry Lee Lucas receiving a bit of mental health care? Do you think our own neighbors and Michele herself would have benefitted from that same mental health care? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could put a little in on the front of our problems instead of just playing catch-up? C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
c00Lture Artist: Kaitlin Stafford kaitlin@kaitlinilene.com
What’s cool? You decide. We think of coolture as art, music, literature that really gets your mind moving. Culture Clash is all about cool. Now we can show it off. Want to feature your work or event in the Coolture section? Shoot us an email CultureClashGalveston@gmail.com
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CULTURE CLASH (Coolture)
BOI AUTHOR
Tommie McNeil is many things: a BOI (born on island)
By Leslie Whaylen
RAISES THE STAKES
Galveston resident, a recovering addict, a published author (Two Left Shoes), a 67-year old bisexual/ gay black man, a world traveler, a spouse to his 82-year old partner, an artist, a great-grandfather, and an active community member who could be your next door neighbor on this sand barrier island. He’s also been HIV positive for 28 years, and clean & sober for 24.
In the 1950s and 1960s when Tommie was young, he remembers seeing signs in Galveston that read “Whites Only” and “Coloreds Only.” He recalls watching movies in the upstairs, Coloreds Only section at the Martini Theater (see: Culture Clash article “Gritty Galveston” in Nov/Dec issue that mentions this iconic landmark in Galveston). When I asked him about the day he came out to his parents, Tommie said his father said to him, “I could probably have him [Tommie’s partner] arrested, but it probably wouldn’t do any good.” Tommie had just turned 17 and his partner is several years older than he. Many years later and before his Daddy died, Tommie said to him, “Thank you for not throwing away your gay son.” His father’s sage response was, “Well, not everyone has the same desires.”
With good humor, Tommie distills his life as, “In the White House in 1975, in the crack house in 1985, and in the Galveston Grand Opera House in 2007.” He attended Alvin Community College in Texas and then American University in Washington D.C. Tommie showed me a blurry picture of him and his female date sitting on a couch in the Red Room in the White House, at a 1975 school prom, the first and only, held at the White House. Forty years
ago around Washington D.C., Tommie described how racism existed, even within the gay community. “Regardless of being attacked by the heterosexual community, some [gay whites] still found a way to feel superior.” In the 1980s, Tommie moved to Los Angeles, California, where his art was featured in Designers West and Contemporary Art Magazine. However, within a few years was unemployed, addicted to the [then] new drug called crack cocaine, and homeless. He had a wild lifestyle. While helping cater an event for a female movie star in Malibu, Tommie shared with her his story, to which she replied, “Get on that phone, call your folk, and go home.” Tommie did just that, but within two weeks of being back in Texas, he learned he had contracted HIV. It took several more years of addiction and trips to the county jail before he started his journey to recovery. Tommie doesn’t dwell long on the differences of skin color or lifestyles. He describes himself as lover of all people, and focuses on the positive around us. As one of the characters in his book Two Left Shoes says, he’s a “lover of the soul, not the gender.” Tommie has led a full life, and I foresee little that will slow him down much, including being legally blind. He’s an active mentor and motivational speaker through several local and regional programs, and his acceptance of the Martin Luther King Junior Award is the reason he was in the Galveston Opera House ten years ago. At the Nia Cultural Center (3018 Avenue N) in 2012, Tommie was presented the Village Gatekeeper Award. Though Tommie and his partner have always had an open relationship, they were legally married in Maryland in 2014. Next summer, he and his partner will celebrate their 50 years together.
Tommie’s book, Two Left Shoes, was published in 2014, and has been described as an erotic thriller with its plot of a passionate love triangle, but also weaves important social issues impacting the lives of ordinary Galvestonians: homophobia, bullying, teen suicide, domestic violence, drug addiction, and HIV. His novel is available at www.authortommiemcneil.com or on Amazon. 22
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pulse
CULTURE CLASH (Coolture)
SEE ART
Jan-Feb 2018 Calendar of Events
Kaitlin Stafford at KISS Cafe 409 25th St (after Jan. 31st)
January
Salsa from Japan with Mother Harvey Sunday, January 7, 2018 8 PM - 11 PM VFW: Raymond C. Paul Post 880 1014 24th St & Avenue K Admission: $7 ART WALK pre show with Justin Lopez Saturday, January 11, 2018 6 PM - 11 PM SENPAI’S - 513B 25th st FREE Comedy Show Saturday, January 28, 2018 6 PM - 11 PM SENPAI’S - 513B 25th st Admission: $5
C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
DRINK UP
February
Orange Roofi
Recipe: Orange Vodka & Watermelon Schnapps Available at: Albatross 815 21st St Galveston, TX 77550
Shake The Baby Til The Love Comes Out // Kink Shame // GWO Sunday, February 4, 2018 8 PM - 11 PM VFW: Raymond C. Paul Post 880 1014 24th St & Avenue K Admission: $5 Jack Topht (NY) and/or The Sillhouette Nude (Jap) Sunday, February 4, 2018 8 PM - 11 PM Location TBA Admission: $7 Mojave Red Friday, February 16, 2018 6 PM - 11 PM SENPAI’S - 513B 25th st Admission: $5
MORE EVENTS ON OUR WEBSITE!!
CULTURECLASHGALVESTON.COM
Photo by Maricelli Photography
Galveston Synergistic Project Release Showcase: Patency, locusts of control Saturday, January 6, 2018 8 PM - 11 PM VFW: Raymond C. Paul Post 880 1014 24th St & Avenue K $8 for the event only, $15 for the event PLUS a GSP Volume for your collection.
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20Istanbul CULTURE CLASH (Coolture)
hours in By Jessica Antonelli
That was the hidden cost of my shockingly cheap round-trip ticket to Italy, only $749 on Turkish Airlines. But those Turks knew what they were doing, with a 20 hour layover in the capital city of Istanbul, I starting thinking I’d better find a way to make the most of my limited time and see the sites.
How does one make the most of such a quick trip?
•PLAN in advance to get great deals, more than a couple of months at least. A travel agent can help you really sort out the details and get you insider activities if you like to plan with an expert. Tell them you’re open to long layovers in cool cities, and ask what an “open-jaw flight” is if you’re ready to get really adventurous. •DEALRAY: This fun site will text you when crazy cheap flight deals pop up. Go to dlry.me/ce8bba1e to get 2 free months of flight deals. You may not even know where you want to go until you see how cheap it can be! $87 round trip to Chicago? Los Angeles to Paris for $337? Oo la-la! •CHECK FOR VISA ISSUES. Many countries across the pond require you to get tourist visa, and Turkey has an easy and cheap electronic visa you get online before you arrive so you can make the most of every minute. If try to get your visa in person at the airport, you have to stand in a terrible long line while your exotic destination calls to you from the other side of the security gate and your time ticks down. •TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL. Everybody knows it’s more fun to travel when you know a local who can show you all the hidden gems. Try the culturalexchange experience of Couchsurfing.com. Couchsurfing is a social network of travelers and hosts, where you can crash for free on a stranger’s couch in exchange for sharing your story and conversation, or perhaps language exchange or fun skills. This idea freaks a lot of people out, but as long as you take precautions and do the research on your potential host (be sure you chose someone with good references!) then you open the door to having a truly C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
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CULTURE CLASH (Coolture) local experience in even the most exotic location, and making new friends! AirBnB is another option, and sometimes you share space with friendly hosts. Check out the reviews and descriptions of your lodgings on both these sites to find a good fit for you. Spoiler alert: my 20 hour side-trip nearly ruined the rest of my trip to Italy. It was too good! I arrived mid-afternoon, flashed my pre-printed visa, and set out on the subway to meet my Couchsurfing host. As soon as I stepped out of the security gates I had doubts—Turkish might as well be Klingon for all I could read on the signs everywhere. Thankfully there were also English translations, and I was able to ask the security people which way to go on my way to the subway. The subway! Public transportation is one of the best ways to get to know a city. It had underground and overground sections, so I saw how huge the metropolis is. Over 18 million people, and probably a similar number of cats. Looking around, I saw some women with heads covered, and I was reminded that of course this was a Muslim country, the most beautiful buildings here (and possibly anywhere) are the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. Looking out of the subway windows, I saw water and a bridge, on the other side: Asia. One city on two continents, Eurasian Istanbul. In less than an hour I was in the middle of an artsy and unpronounceable neighborhood looking for my Couchsurfing-host, till that point a complete stranger. As evidence by the fact that I’m writing this tale now, he was not an axe-murderer, I survived, and perhaps if you give ‘em a chance most humans are actually pretty nice. Couch-hosts tend to really love to show off their cities, tell stories, and take you to the best and cheapest dives. If you’ve never tried turkish coffee…it’s different than anything else, as divine as the baklava pastries it’s served with. We had one just before the sun went down, so as to muster up every ounce of energy to continue exploring. The main attraction, the Hagia Sofia was closed, but we hung out outside, rode a historic subway, shopped, tried all the food at an awesome buffet with a view of the sprawling transcontinental city, saw street performers, and went on a street art tour. And I even spent at least 6 hour sleeping in what turned out to be a guest bedroom, not a couch! So it is possible, although not guaranteed, to find cozier sleeping arrangements on the Couchsurfing. Still, it’s always important to remember that you are a guest staying for free, and to be super considerate. Turkey was a 20-hour immersion in exotic smells, rich flavors, and bustling-big-multicultural city. (And did I mention the cats?) I spent the next 20 days of my extended trip in Italy missing Istanbul. I have to admire the Turkish Airlines strategy of offering such cheap flights at the expense of spending time in the splendid city if Istanbul, once you’ve seen it you’re spellbound to want to go back.
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WE ’V E BE EN I N BU SI N ESS SI N C E 1 9 58
Good Counsel...Better Travel
Cruises, Vacations, and Tours 2528 Ball Street, Galveston TX 77550 email@travel-counselors.com www.travel-counselors.com 409-765-7759 Denise Smith, Manager Becky Moreno, Owner Chuck Peterson, Travel Counselor
C U LTU R EC L A S H G A LV E STO N . C O M • J A N / F E B 2 0 1 8
Learn More at GalvestonSurfrider.com Monthly Meetings Every 2nd Thur. @ The Mod
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e l p e o p veston
CULTURE CLASH (Feature)
l a g of
Photos and Interviews By Sara Ramirez
(Left) Pablo Cisneros: I was raised here in Galveston, we were living in Brownsville until my sister got burned, so they sent us to John Sealy over here, and ever since then, I was about seven and we stayed here. I’ve been doing roofing for about 20 years, then all my bosses passed away, I worked for 2 of them while they passed away and I was out of a job until I ran into this man right here James Lee, and he got me working with him, and I’m still with him.
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c u ltu r ec l a s h G ALV ESTO N . c o m • j a n / f e b 2 0 1 8
CULTURE CLASH (Feature)
(Top) Rispba McCray: I went to medical school here, at UTMB. ...It was on an island, I like water and being close to water so it was a good fit. UTMB was a very culturaly diverse type of medical school. And people seem to be very friendly so that’s why I chose the school. (Right) Shane Ovesny: I’m from Texas City. I’ve grown up in the area my entire life so I spent a lot of time in Galveston. My last name is Czech, my ancestors came here on that boat in the late 1800s. They were here for the 1900 storm and everything. I’d say the interesting juxtaposition of personalities that jump through here makes it interesting. I’ve actually been here at Hazy Days for about two months.
(Bottom Right) Terrial Weatherspoon: Been working down here in Galveston for about six years. I’m from Houston Texas. I love living down here seeing all the tourists. I got a family in Mississippi so I travel back and forth a lot.
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CULTURE CLASH (Feature)
(Top) David Lee: You want me to talk the way I talk? or nice and polite, I don’t give a fuck! I’m gonna tell you the fuck I know, I was born in New Mexico, bam bam bam, I was raised by a demon, the demon got inside me, I’m a fucking demon, okie dokey? But one of the nicest son of a bitches you’ll ever meet in your life time. I’ve been arrested, but if you wanna hear the real good part of me, I had a horse, that was my horse, when he died I died, all my life left me.
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CULTURE CLASH (Coolture)
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