1980

Home, Bittersweet Home

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

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.

State Secrets

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

Roar of the Crowd

Big wind, high tide, New Wave.

Texas Monthly Reporter

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

Puzzle

The end of the line.

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.”

Stompin’ By the Bayou

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

The Inside Story

Fan tales.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Houston! Astros!

The Astros were going to the World Series. But—

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.

Cowboys and India

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

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

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

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.

Behind the Lines

Enter Ronald Reagan—the liberals’ true friend.

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.

Art From the Underground

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

Hecho en Mexico

There’s no Christmas like a south-of-the-border Christmas, with gift ideas to match.

The Ultimate Sport

Polo? It’s passé. Big game hunting? Humdrum. It’s the pursuit of the wily blue marlin that admits men to the world’s most exclusive club.

Why Is Houston Falling Apart?

Because nobody at city hall is doing his job, that’s why.

Discover Beautiful Beaumont

Okay, we heard that snicker. But give the place a chance. You’ll find plenty to enjoy.

Man on Bass

A double basist leads a singular life.

Teaming With Problems

The Houston Rockets need work; the Dallas Mavericks need help.

Touts

Dress to kill.

Dust on the Golden Spur

When ranchers gathered in Lubbock to celebrate their way of life, they found they didn’t have much cause for celebration.

State Secrets

A ground swell of support for booting Howard Cosell; here come the judges; who will fill the UT power vacuum.

On the Rebound

After a sloppy 1979-80 season, the San Antonio Spurs had no coach, no center, and no end to their problems. But all that has changed.

Roar of the Crowd

Red-hot art, inflation blues, wasted blacks.

Texas Monthly Reporter

Gas pipeline companies are devouring Lee County; border plasma clinics beckon poor Mexicans; oh, deer, what can the matter be?

Puzzle

Roots.

Free Agent

Nostalgic daddies think of schoolboy football as good, clean fun. But kids soon realize it’s more like corporal punishment.

The Inside Story

Putting on Heirs

The story of Howard Hughes and the discredited “Mormon will” is the unlikely subject of a quirky film about rags and out-of-reach riches. Ordinary People is full of woe; Stardust Memories has far to go.

Can the Boy Scouts Save America?

Perhaps. At least they’re on the right track and trying hard.

Rex Cauble and the Cowboy Mafia

The Denton millionaire hated drugs and liked cops. He also liked Muscles Foster, a footloose cowboy who was one of Texas’ biggest drug runners.

Bordeauex Patrol

A loaf of bread, a glass of wine, and though hast a wine bar.

How to Succeed in Opera

At his school in Austria, Texas singer Richard Owens acquaints opera hopefuls with a bravo new world.

Never On Sunday

Why do 61 million adult Americans say “pooh” to the pew?

Behind the Lines

The press keeps telling us how bad Carter and Reagan are, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Love’s Labors Found

Sculptor Jim Love makes art look easy—and fun.

Twisting the Night Away

South Texas went into a frenzy preparing for Hurricane Allen, then the guest of honor never showed up.

What Ever Happened to the Storm of the Century?

Hurricane Allen proved that everyone talks about the weather but nobody knows much about it—least of all the National Weather Service.

Feather your vest.

The Sweet Smell of Success

The Price is Right

The days of 40-cent gas are back again; the Astros’ midlife crisis; the state budget is gone with the wind; Baytown’s all washed up.