Ike’s Aftermath: Damn!
This (above) is what most of the structures along Galveston’s Seawall Boulevard looked like Saturday morning, after Hurricane Ike roared ashore in the middle of the night with 110 mph winds. One of the buildings constructed on piers and set over the Gulf of Mexico was the world-famous Balinese Room, a 79-year-old nightclub that once hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, George Burns, Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers. ZZ Top wrote a song about the club, “Balinese,” in 1975. 
Ike turned the Balinese into toothpicks on Saturday, nothing was left standing; above is a souvenir shop that was next to the club; photo at right is the Balinese in its heyday.
From Houston to Port Arthur, millions of people are without running water and electricity, thousands have serious damage to their homes and most are still shell-shocked from the events of Friday and Saturday – but thankfully there seem to be very few serious injuries or fatalities. This part of the country is strong and stubborn; we’ll be back. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, America.
MP3: “Hurricane Jane” by the Black Kids
MP3: “Devil Wind” by Ribbonpigeon
MP3: “Mighty Storm” by the Duhks
MP3: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff
30 Days Out 
September 14, 2008 at 10:46 am
thinking about you guys. Watching from a distance. Had to cancel my plans for a big shoot in Galveston this coming week. I guess it’s not going to be camera ready for a while. But i’ll be there in the name of Southern Living as soon as possible to do stories and send our readers back to visit and discover again why Galveston is so fun.
Let me know what’s up with you guys. Hope you have power. Love the music for hurricanes.