December 1980

Table of Contents

Find the access code — required to read stories online — on the third contents page in the most recent issue of Texas Monthly. Subscribers can also visit our Customer Care page to get the code. Subscribe now and get instant access.

Features

I, Claus

Better not shout, cry, or pout, ‘cause we’re telling you why, after all these years, Santa Claus is still coming to town.

Houston! Astros!

The Astros were going to the World Series. But—

No Man’s Land

Welcome to Highland Park, a small town right in the middle of Dallas where the living is easy and time stands still.

These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking

You can drink coffee out of them, plant ivy in them, or put them on a pedestal. The only thing you can’t do with these realist ceramic boots is wear them.

Out Of Control

We’ve got inadequate airports, jam-packed airspace, and antiquated traffic control system, and inept federal overseers. Is air safety just pie in the sky?

Columns

Stepping Out

Medicine Men

From pig pancreas pills to pyramid power ice trays, the cure-alls of these unorthodox healers are aimed at getting you back on the right wavelength.

Behind the Lines

Enter Ronald Reagan—the liberals’ true friend.

Lifestyle

True Confessions of Fathers and Sons

What is a man to his boys? Fiend, antagonist, taskmaster, hugger, educator, realist—put them all together, they spell “father.”

Church

Old, Rugged Churches

Century-old Antioch Baptist shouts its message over the sky-high rooftops of downtown Houston. St. Mary’s in Galveston is Texas’ only basilica.

Film

The Shadow Warrior

Sword-wielding samurai clash in Kagemusha, Akira Kurosawa’s rousing saga of clan wars in sixteenth-century Japan. The Stunt Man goes out on a limb—and falls off. It’s My Turn is a feminist film that’s funny.

Theater

Home, Bittersweet Home

An Alley Theatre world premiere, To Grandmother’s House We Go was a play about family foibles that really hit home.

Jazz

Stompin’ By the Bayou

Houston’s first jazz festival turned Miller Theatre into a hothouse of sound.

Classical Music

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

These recordings of Christmas carols and cantatas will help ye rest merry.

Art

Art From the Underground

Dissident Russian artists paint a grim picture of life behind the Iron Curtain.

Dining Out

Cowboys and India

Beef is king at Cattlemen’s in Fort Worth; food fit for a rajah is yours at Houston’s Taj Mahal.

Books

High Gloss

Laura Furman handles The Glass House with a little too much care; Elmer Kelton’s novels take you way out West; a new filed guide digs into Texas’ past; Hearts will win yours.

Reporter

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

Cable TV has Dallas in its coils; acupuncture has its day in court; sex education has parents up in arms.

Miscellaneous

The Inside Story

Fan tales.

Roar of the Crowd

Big wind, high tide, New Wave.

Touts

Stamp collecting a metal perfecting.

Puzzle

The end of the line.

State Secrets

What’s in store for ‘88; riding Reagan’s coattails; welcome to the great El Paso gold rush; Yankee lawyers invade Dallas.

Subscribe Now
Blogs