< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 T hanksgiving always has been one of my favorite holidays. I count myself lucky that I actually enjoy the company of my family and in-laws. I love food traditions and recipes passed down through generations. And those who know me know I’m always looking for any excuse to eat pecan pie and a good Texas cornbread dressing. I’m generally a grateful person, so Thanksgiving suits me. And there’s something comforting about knowing the holiday is nearly uni- versally celebrated in the United States. Thanksgiving is for everyone and a rite of passage for newcomers. I also marvel about the fact so many good coastal Texans I know spend the holiday ensuring the less fortunate can celebrate it, too. “Thanksgiving is the only major holiday not based on a religion,” M. Todd Henderson, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School wrote in an opinion piece for Newsweek in 2020. “Americans of all faiths cel- ebrate it together, and there is something deeply unifying about knowing that every family in ev- ery corner of the country is eating (more or less) the same meal and sharing in the same traditions. In a time when e pluribus unum is increasingly undermined by political and social factions, Thanksgiving is a tie that binds.” Henderson was writing in defense of Thanksgiving as it comes un- der threat of being canceled in the latest of culture wars. As we sought skaters to don a fun Thanksgiving T-shirt for the cov- er of this issue, we were met with respectful but firm resistance. A few didn’t want to be associated with Thanksgiving. I was a little taken aback, I admit. Thanksgiving is commonly known as a way to commemorate the 1621 colonial Pilgrims’ harvest meal they shared with Native Ameri- cans, the Wampanoag. This Thanksgiving will be the 401-year anniversary of that harvest meal. But the holiday also is considered by some as a celebration of colonialism in North America and the displacement and oppression of Native Americans. Honestly, my first reaction to the rejection of the holiday was a bit of defensiveness. I can’t defend the grim history, but I can argue it has noth- ing to do with me or now or what Thanksgiving means to most of us. Like everything else, real social progress requires us to look forward, rather than always backward, and for our institutions and attitudes to evolve. Our founding documents, for example, when they were drafted didn’t offer all the protections to all the people they do now. “We the people,” the first three words in the preamble to our Constitution, didn’t mean then what most of us demand they mean now. Rather than rejecting that document and the fine ideals it codified because of its original failings, Americans have forced it to evolve and come to mean what we the people now alive believe it should mean. The same is true, or at least possible, for our long-held tra- ditions. We need not reject them all; we can make them mean what we want them to mean, which is what most of us already have done with Thanksgiving. Many years ago, the famous Mex- ican writer Carlos Fuentes spoke in Houston about art and Western culture. After his talk, Fuentes took questions and a young Hispanic man asked why Fuentes wasn’t harsher in his assessments of the Spanish invasion of what we call South and Central America. Why did he write about it at all? I’ve forgotten his exact words, but Fuentes said he and the young man and every one living there were the descendants of that invasion, offspring of the conquistadors, the indigenous and the land itself. To look back at the Conquistadors with hate was to hate them- selves, Fuentes said. To look back and reject or ignore the people of our past was to reject ourselves and miss the lessons. Better we look back and understand, then make ourselves better. I respect the idealism and spirit that moved the young skaters to take a pass on the silly Thanksgiving T-shirt. Our cover skater had no objections and we appreciated her, too. And this Thanksgiving, I will celebrate living in a country where we can all celebrate holidays in our own ways. LAURA ELDER Coast Monthly editor FROM THE EDITOR IN DEFENSE OF THANKSGIVINGCarolyn T. Gaido REALTOR ® CLHMS, CRS, RSPS, SRS 713.851.3377 CarolynGaido@SandNSea.com CarolynGaido.com Sand `N Sea Properties, LLC Top Agent Since 1999 Michael J. Gaido, III REALTOR ® 409.457.4900 MichaelGaido.com Kimberly A. Gaido REALTOR ® , SRS 713.498.2020 sandnsea.com 3222 ANTILLIES This is a rare 3 bed 3 bath Caribbean townhouse with nice upgrades including wind rated windows in 2018. 529 POMPANO 3 bedroom 2.5 bath on the canal in Bayou Vista 4116 AVENUE T 5 bedroom, 3 bath in-town and one block from the beach 1 & 2 WESTWIND Double size lot in Evia 1224 103 RD G aido R eal e state G Roup A trusted name with over 50 years of real estate experience 16717 DAVY JONES 2 bedroom and 1 bath Jamacia Beach 22118 MATAGORDA Updated 2BR/2BA canal front house in Sea Isle.12 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 SHORELINES WE ASKED ON FACEBOOK: beautiful sunsets, beaches, oysters and red snapper! Karen Giusti Stripling I’m thankful for our city of Texas City floodgate! Dayna Rodriguez Perren Watching the pelicans fish. Diana McMulin Speed The smell of saltwater, and sunrises and sunsets. Oh, and fishing and eating great seafood. Robin Crain Grateful for the friendships I have made here with like-minded Texas beach lovers! Le May We just moved into our retirement home on the bay. We marvel at the view out our windows that changes from hour to hour throughout the day. Brooks Cima A place to relax and unwind, like walking the dog on the beach! It’s her happy place! Liz Garcia Smith everything! Heaven on earth! Jackie Matson Goulden Spring migration flyways! Hawk migration in the fall is pretty good, too, but doesn’t compare with the concentrated, beautiful spring migrants. Cindy Bartos The diversity, the beach, the semi-tropical environ- ment, the familiarity — running into everyone you know, the restaurants, the ability to bike to work, my fabulous job, UTMb, the opera house, eTC, The Strand, the wonderful people! The list goes on. Karen Stanley riding my scooter along the seawall on my way to work every day. OK, every day until it gets cold. Stephen F. Duncan Family gatherings at Thanksgiving, good food, and just being thankful for everything! Denise Sowell Shead Our strong community and, of course, the beautiful sunsets! Anastasia Gaido The Texas Coast is a rugged, beautiful place that has weathered many storms, but her beauty shines through, especially within the people that come here for a new beginning and second chance away from the rat race of the world. Daniel Leggett The immense diversity in population. And the light reflected over the water as I drive in from the West end each morning. Seawall boulevard never disappoints for many reasons. Angela K. Escue Cool breezes and briny smells. Shari Brasher Daughtry We have our island back from the tourists. Love what the tourists bring to the island; however, it is nice that we get to cruise peacefully down the seawall from mid-September to May! Andrea Pieri Sunseri The sunsets and sun-ups, the full orange moon or yellow sun, the white and pinkish clouds, the blue water, regardless where we see these, over the beach or coast of the Gulf — beautiful and spectacular from any place on the island. Leona Pleasant A slow hurricane season. Hal Rochkind being thankful for the time we have with friends and family. Living in the country and not being far from the island. Stacey Gottlob The beautiful November weather and long walks on the beach with our dog ralph! And Thanksgiving dinner. Heather MacBeth Estrada The sense of community. I love that we wave and greet strangers in Galveston. I love this island. Christine Ruiz Hopkins Health and happiness of my children, grand- children, great-grandchildren and myself. Island life is exhilarating, yet calming, its salt sinks in your soul. Belinda Zamora What are you most thankful for about living on the upper Texas coast? DAPHNe WATKINS The sun sets amid the natural beauty of the upper Texas coast. Turn to page 110 for more Shutterbugs.houstonmethodist.org/pcg/southeast 713.394.6638 Safe, convenient primary care — at a location near you. At Houston Methodist, we provide personalized care for you and your family, including physicals, immunizations and preventive care. Many of our practices: • Provide in-person and virtual visits with online scheduling • Offer same-day sick visits • Are conveniently located close to work or home • Accept most major insurance plans Your health and safety are our priority. We are taking every necessary precaution to keep you safe. PRIMARY CARE that fits your life 45 146 8 Friendswood League City Clear Lake Pasadena14 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 FEATURE RETRO REVIVAL Coastal Texans embrace welcoming, fun pastime of roller skating story by KERI HEATH A s the yolky sun sank over the Galveston Ship Channel on a late September evening, a group of islanders knelt at Pier 21 to lace up roller skates. In the past year or so, the weekly skate ses- sions have become a tradition. They provide a couple of hours to glide along the pier, try new tricks and have a good time, said Amy West, who helped start the group. The Galveston group is one of many that have either grown or emerged since the pandemic, when roller skating surged in popularity. Skating of all kinds grew during the COVID lockdowns when people were looking for fun ways to get outside, said Brenda Holley, owner of Roller Pump, which offers skate classes around north Galveston County and south Houston. Skating is nostalgic and reminds people of the rink culture of the 1980s, Holley said. “I think the reason why people are drawn to it is because they’re seeing it trend on TikTok and all the social medias,” Holley said. “It’s fun and everybody wants to have fun now.” People also began taking greater interest in their health during the pandemic and skating is a good way to get mov- ing, she said. “Doing burpees and all that stuff, that doesn’t look fun,” Holley said. “This is an actual form of fitness that looks fun.” Islander Megan Wang saw videos on social media and thought the sport looked fun, so she tried it and liked it, she said. “I was a pandemic skater,” Wang said. “It got really popular and I wanted to know how to do it.” Wang has been skating for about a year now and is work- ing on new tricks. When most businesses were shut down, some downtown residents skated through the streets, said Patrick Wheeler, who used to play roller hockey. “It’s fun,” Wheeler said. “You use muscles that you don’t normally use.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 15 Megan Wang smashes through plastic bowling pins during an evening skate session with friends at Pier 21 in Galveston. STUA r T v ILLANU ev A16 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 FEATURE The skate scene can include everything from competitions to casual learning, Holley said. Rhythm skating, which is like dancing, originated in the Black community and in- volves lots of fancy footwork, Holley said. Ramp skating involves doing tricks, much like skateboarders, she said. Many Olympic figure skaters and speed-ice skaters also got their start on wheels, she said. “It’s really the community that people are sticking around for — the culture,” Holley said. “There’s a culture with each scene. Once you have fallen in love with skating, you find that you have to be part of that community.” PHOTOS: J e NNIF er re YNOLDS “It’s really the community that people are sticking around for – the culture. There’s a culture with each scene. Once you have fallen in love with skating, you find that you have to be part of that community.” BRENDA HOLLEY The scene in Galveston is pretty relaxed, said Samantha Cherryhomes, owner of Reverie Skate Shop, 2328 Strand in the island’s downtown. Cherryhomes and her business partner, Liz Johnson, opened the shop last year when they noticed many of the skaters in Galveston had poorly fitting skates. They also started a Galveston Skaters group in 2019, she said. The Galveston community isn’t competi- tive at all when it comes to skating, she said. “It’s very welcoming,” Cherryhomes said. “We want to just share that joy with every- body. There’s a lot going on in the world today. It’s just that little bit of freedom.” Although there are lots of flat areas in Galveston to skate on, Cherryhomes advises people to check the wind speed before they head somewhere like the seawall. “Anything over 15 mph is a little excessive to skate into,” Cherryhomes said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 17 (Clockwise from top) Amy West, from left, Ksania Chekh, Kelsey Ciarrocca, Megan Wang, Mercedes Pang and Patrick Wheeler form a conga line during an evening skate session at Pier 21 in Galveston; Amy West cuts through plastic bowling pins; Patrick Wheeler dons his roller skates. (Opposite, from top) Brenda Holley, owner of Roller Pump, practices a spin off a ramp at the League City Skatepark; Shannon “Buttercup” Udoetuk, 8, zips around the League City Skatepark. PHOTOS: STUA r T v ILLANU ev A18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2022 FEATURE On the flip side of the chill island atmosphere is roller derby. West got involved in derby when she lived in Austin and has carried that love of the sport ever since, she said. She goes professionally by Indy Jamma Jones in the skate community. She already had loved skating, but when she saw “Whip It,” the 2009 film about roller derby in Texas, West knew she wanted to get in- volved, she said. The game involves scoring points by lapping members of the other team, while players try to block opponents. “It’s pure chaos,” West said. The sport attracts a lot of soccer, hockey and rugby players, she said. “It’s full contact, a lot of fighting,” West said. “It’s fun.” The sport also is unique because it’s primarily women who participate, Holley said. “Roller derby has always been our contact sport,” Holley said. “You have to be strong. You have to have coor- dination. Good balance is being on skates and getting hit at the same time and not falling.” But for many, the fun of skating is just learning new techniques, trying new things and meeting new people. As the sun sets on the group’s weekly session, Wang skates through a line of bowling pins, laughing as she knocks them all over. More than anything, it’s just fun to meet up with people and have a good time each week, she said. “Everybody’s really welcoming,” Wang said. “Everybody’s really helpful. Galveston is small enough to where you don’t feel intimidated coming to one of these things.” Megan Wang and her friends roller skate as the sun dips low during an evening skate session with friends at Pier 21 in Galveston. STUA r T v ILLANU ev A221029-COAS-A-019.indd 1910/12/22 7:41 PMNext >