By Tim Gaynor
GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike may be takingaim for the low-lying coast of Texas, but grocery store workerJacqueline Harris is staying put -- in a flimsy, wooden beachbar.
"If nature is going to come and get us, bring it on!"Harris said as she sipped a Bud light beer at the Poop Deck, atavern a stone's throw from the sandy coastal strip thrashed bywhite-capped waves.
"Everything I own and love is on the island; I'm going downwith the ship," she added.
Residents of vulnerable coastal areas like Galveston Islandare under a mandatory evacuation order. They face 111 mile perhour (177 kph) winds and tidal surges of up to 20 feet (6metres) if Ike makes landfall as a dangerous Category 3 stormas expected late on Friday.
Texas governor Rick Perry urged residents to heedevacuation orders in such low-lying areas of the Gulf of Mexicothat face severe flooding from tidal surges and heavy rains.
Some have decided to stay, boarding up their windows andpreparing to move to higher floors ahead of the storm's surge,which is tipped to top Galveston's 17-foot (5-metre) sea walland flood the island from end-to-end by daylight on Saturday.
A Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Galveston in1900 killed at least 6,000 people, making it the deadliestnatural disaster in U.S. history.
The manager of the Poop Deck Marie Aldrich-Creasy says shehas no plans to leave. She has stockpiled batteries, candlesand a few tins of food, but said would not be shuttering herbar, which faces the sea a few yards (metres) across a highway.
"I don't believe I am endangering anyone. The doors areopen; if they choose to come, that's their free will," shesaid, sipping a vodka and mocha cocktail in the bar.
THRILL SEEKERS AND THE WEARY
Every hurricane has its holdouts. Those who risk all tostay put do so for a variety of reasons.
"This is our home. Why run and come back to nothing?" saidHarris, sitting at a table with other regulars in the bar.
Waitress Nanette Crouch said she was put off by the hugetraffic jams she faced fleeing the coastal strip ahead of thelast hurricane, Rita, which barged ashore in Texas three yearsago.
"I've been praying a lot, I'm scared, but I'm never goingin that traffic again, not after Rita, it was 17 hours ofhell," she said, as she stood on the deck of the bar, with hermother Nancy.
Others opted to stay for the extreme thrill of riding outthe storm, which has grown in size since roaring through theCaribbean, wreaking havoc in Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's something I've alwayswanted to do -- experience a hurricane," said Andrew Lawrence,a former convict turned builder, as he knocked back beers andshots in the bar.
"I've been in prison, I've been shot ... I figure if I dothis, I'll be the Michael Phelps of travesties," he said,referring to the U.S. swim champion who won a record-settingeight gold medals at the Beijing Olympic games.
Staying on was not for all though. One couple said theywere preparing to get off the island, and faced gentle mockeryfrom others in the bar.
"They're voted off the island!" quipped housewife EvaBroughton. "This is 'Survivor,' this is reality."
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
