EXORDIUM BY WAYNE NIELSEN
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elcome to Issue 96, our Offshore Energy edition. I never much liked Houston. I grew up knowing from afar the Texan brashness of big hats and hairdos, big cars, big talk. My grandma’s sister, Aunt Betty, married a Texan and lived in Dallas, and when she would visit us in Chicago, talked with a twang using words in ways I had never heard before. When I started working various submarine projects in the town in 2002 my attitude didn’t really change all that much. Texans are an interesting bunch, and their outlook often stems from their “Republic” pedigree, when they fought alone and stood apart from the rest of us a couple of centuries ago. My attitude towards Texas changed in September 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf of Mexico into New Orleans. I was in Houston days after for project and client meetings. By then we had a growingly clear view of the devastation and how people were being shipped from NOLA to almost anywhere. While I was there something extraordinary happened - Houston selflessly opened its doors. So, I extended my stay and against the advice of a local colleague, drove over to the George Brown Convention Center to offer my help. 4