To Bay City

Grant McGalliard
Aug 28, 2017 · 2 min read

I’m writing this at 12:33 a.m., Monday, August 28. Three hours or so ago, the mayor of my hometown of Bay City, Texas announced that a massive, historical flood will inundate the city in the coming days, rising to 10 feet downtown.

And if you know Bay City, “downtown” is a relative term.

For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite hobbies has been to lovingly make fun of the town that raised me. We didn’t have a movie theater for the last five years I lived there, comical stories from high school make kids from other cities blanch in horror, cows live in the pasture behind my house — you get the picture. It’s not a bustling metropolis.

But it’s the place that I call home — check my Twitter bio for proof. And I love Bay City with every fiber of my being. I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood and this town is a major reason why.

If this flood happens, if Bay City joins Houston and Corpus and Rockport and all the other towns and cities that have been decimated by Hurricane Harvey, then my hometown will have suffered its most devastating tragedy since I’ve been alive, and since my mom and my entire maternal side of the family have lived here.

But you know what?

Screw it.

I don’t mean to take a cavalier attitude, or to ignore the massive loss of property and livelihoods and sense of security that this flood may bring. Those things can never be replaced.

I realize that I come from a family that has the means to rebuild and fix some of the damage that comes our way, and I realize that some people don’t have those methods, and I know that I can’t imagine what they’re going through.

This flood, if it happens, will be bad, and will screw over thousands of people, and there’s no two ways around it.

But Bay City cannot and will not lose our sense of identity.

As much as I enjoy mocking the town I grew up in, we have a mentality that is unmatched. We take pride in being our own selves, for better or worse, and there’s no amount of floodwater or storm systems that can change that.

I take so much pride in being from Bay City, so much pride in the people I grew up with. It’s the people that make Bay City what it is, not the buildings on the square.

So to the people of BC — leave. Get out. Evacuate. Come back when it’s safe. Reconnect with everyone when Harvey has finally finished unleashing his wrath upon south Texas.

And then, rebuild, as much as we can. I’ll donate, I’ll help when I come down to visit family. I’ll do what I can, and that’s all I ask of my fellow Blackcats.

Screw this storm. We’re from Bay City, Texas, where them boys drop records, and we stay on our motherf**** grind.

They asken’ where I’m from? Bay City.

They can’t kill the Dirty Bay. Long may Bay City reign.

)

Grant McGalliard

Written by

Noted Twitter idiot. This is for when I take myself too seriously and write things. Follow me @grantmcgalliard

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade