Have You Ever Been to the Golden Triangle?

Since my novel is set in Groves and Beaumont, Texas, I thought I would introduce you to my hometown. People from this area call it the "G-T," short for Golden Triangle. The reason why is pretty simple, the areas that are listed together as a community form the shape of a triangle if you were to look on a map (Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange). Some of the better known areas are: Beaumont and Port Arthur.

Beaumont has really grown since I was a kid.  I remember back in the day when it had the first indoor mall, (Parkdale Mall).  Port Arthur is famous because of it's former resident:  Janis Joplin.  This area, or the "G-T" is roughly 90 miles southeast of Houston, Texas.  If you were to travel from Houston on I-10 to Port Arthur, the first thing you would notice would be the oil refineries.  From a distance, it looks pretty in the night, but during the light of day, you can see the work that these refineries actually do.  Constant puffs of smoke producing the retched fumes they produce is enough to make you gag at times. 

That's what I remember about the G-T.  The sound of the ocean, seagulls squaking, the smell of rotten eggs from the oil gases, high school football and the weather.  The hottest weather you can imagine.  Remember, you are spitting distance from the Gulf of Mexico.  Imagine getting up in the morning and taking a shower, dressing and step outside.  Standing outside for less than 1 minute can reduce your efforts of getting clean and fresh to nill.  The hair will be saturated with sweat, the bottom of your sneakers will start to melt (literally) and your shirt will have unsightly sweat stains.  The heat is unbelievable.  In fact, as Neil Simon once aptly said about another region as hot as this one; "This is hot.  Africa hot." 

So there you are, the G-T is a forever small town incapsulated in the growth of modern day southeast Texas.  Small town in every way; friendliness, attitude, politics and some might say small minded with regard to diversity.  Every town has their blemishes and it's an important part of Nicholas's problems in "The Long Road to Extradition."  Read about the G-T HERE.

JR-