The Town of Friendswood

       Friendswood in its self-named novel is a small yet tight-knit community where everyone seems to know and relate to each other despite their differences. The town is located in Texas and has just been hit by a hurricane. The aftermath has left the town old and more wrecked than after the oil spill.  The novel describes it full of "fallen branches and toppled road signs" and "collapsed bleachers" but "things were [are] getting back to normal" from the storm, but not from the oil spill (Steinke 3). Comradeship is proven however when Lee, one of the main characters, donates blankets to a local shelter for those in desperate need. Even though the storm left some damning effects in Friendswood, the oil spill was much worse. The place is contaminated, especially in a section called Rosemont, where signs read "Contaminants Danger and No Trespassing" (6). In fact, chemicals were hidden there "in a number of truck-sized vinyl containers, no better than giant Tupperware" (7). People lost homes and animals lost lives, such as the headless copperhead Lee found "slick and oily" with a scent of petroleum (27). Sadly, there seems to be no one taking action or even caring, except for Lee, as noted by one character stating that, "'I heard she's just gotten stranger about the old Rosemont site. Made a scene last month at the city council meeting" (23). All in all, Friendswood may be a small town with folks that know and help out one another, but the novel has described it as painted in oil, with the hurricane worsening the condition.