The Truth About Carnivals

A carny’s life is an endless ramble from one small town to the next - and that’s why he likes it.

by Dick J. Reavis

Heavy Breathing

Houston’s air may be a slow killer, but the state and the feds spend more time battling each other than fighting pollution.

by Victoria Loe

The Attack of the Electronic Beast and Other Pleasures

Four performers in Dallas are making a new kind of music that combines precision, grace, and crazy humor.

by W. L. Taitte

The Fundamentalist

He’s the man with the Word, and the Word is for you.

by John Bloom

The Hog Chronicles

A city boy moved to the country and life was good. And then he bought four pigs.

by David R. White

So You Don’t Like The Way You Look?

To a plastic surgeon, your face is just the beginning.

by Michael Ennis

Power Plays

Wait! Don’t buy that gas-slurping motorboat and energy-squandering food processor for Christmas. We modestly propose some thrifty alternatives.

by Kent Kirkley and Cyndy Severson

Behind the Lines

The water problem; or, Texas is not all wet.

by Gregory Curtis

Jazz

Jazz Rally

Recordings from the old pros prove the virtue of virtuosity.

by Doug Ramsey

Dining Out

Bread and Circuses

At San Antonio’s Mi Tierra, you’ll see the rabble, the rich, and everyone in between, all feasting on Tex-Mex and homemade pan dulce.

by W. L. Taitte

Environment

Chucking the Piney Woods

Some people look at the Piney Woods and see paper plates and two-by-fours; others see the last great stands of forest in Texas.

by Suzanne Winckler

Movies

“Tina, Bring Me the Ax!”

Mommie Dearest is rabid. Raggedy Man is frayed. Rich and Famous is poor and undistinguished.

by James Wolcott

Crime

The Cons Next Door

To unjam its prisons, Texas is moving convicted felons out of the big house and into a house on your block.

by Jim Atkinson

Sports

Running Dogs

Four hundred Texans breed and train an uncommon kind of livestock—greyhounds.

by Jan Reid

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

Mercedes crisis looms; farm computer biz booms; Mavericks’ potential zooms. Plus, regional brokerages take stock; black colleges get a shock.

by Peter Applebome

Roar of the Crowd

The jobless and the topless.

Touts

Hog calls and bouncing balls.

by Patricia Sharpe

Puzzle

Split personalities.

State Secrets

First try for second mortgages; a judge with labor pains; high jinks at the Highway Commission; Texas help for Three Mile Island.

Edited by Paul Burka