Speed Demons

State highway patrolmen hate the 55 mph speed limit almost as much as other Texas motorists do, and for better reasons.

by Paul Burka

Danger Zones

What they don’t teach you in defensive driving courses: the most dangerous highways in Texas.

by Paul Burka

Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso

What to eat, how to shop, and where to boogie in the most enchanting corner of Texas.

by Richard West

Make Friends With the Quin Tikis

Onstage, all happy lounge acts are alike; offstage, all unhappy lounge acts are unhappy in their own ways.

by John Bloom

Home Sweet Home, Good-bye

And hello to high prices, high interest rates, high rents, and a new low for the American dream.

by Lawrence Wright

Going Under

For a man and his daughter out for a pleasant day’s fishing, the first sign of danger was a man’s hat floating silently down the stream.

by John Graves

Stepping Out

Schmaltz Across Texas

On a soap opera sound stage in Brooklyn the state of Texas lives and loves.

Michael Ennis

Behind the Lines

Made In Japan

by Victoria Loe

Crime

Sins of the Fathers

Violence within the family tends not to be taken too seriously by the courts. But eventually that violence will burst loose to threaten us all.

by Jim Atkinson

Sports

Cardinal Virtues

Lamar University’s hotshot basketball team makes lost of hoops, little hoopla.

by Gene Lyons

Lifestyle

Somebody Turn on the Lights!

Monsters aren’t nearly as scary as the night they go bump in.

by Stephen Harrigan

Dining Out

China Towns

In San Antonio, everything that glitters is in the Golden Palace, where the food is as gaudy as the décor. Austin’s OMei China gives you a zap on the mouth.

by W. L. Taitte

Books

Paper Cowboys

Southwest Fiction might make you think that the region is mostly metropolis and no mesquite. The Guadalupe Mountains of Texas hits a lot of high spots.

by Stephen Harrigan

Classical Music

Mr. Nice Guy Takes the Baton

The San Antonio symphony is beleaguered. Conductor Lawrence Smith is well mannered. They’re both mediocre.

by W. L. Taitte

Jazz

Ambassadors of Jazz

The late Lester Young is a past president of jazz, and his music still holds sway. Albums by other musicians get votes of confidence, too.

by Doug Ramsey

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

Uncle Same wants Texas prison reform; Ma Bell wants your news dollar; Governor Bill wants Mexican workers; killer mosquitoes want you.

The Inside Story

A tale of fourteen cities.

by Gregory Curtis

Roar of the Crowd

Aggies are more than the corps, fashion is more than couture, teaching is mostly a chore.

Touts

Burn, baby, burn

Patricia Sharpe

Puzzle

Message parler?

State Secrets

Sex in the classifieds; looking out for farmer’s welfare; everybody wants to be land commissioner; what ever happened to the tax revolt?

Edited by Paul Burka