September 1984
Table of Contents
Features
Heaven on WheelsWhy are we crazy for Cadillacs, silly for Suburbans, passionate about pickups? Because Texans love their cars, that’s why. The Double Life of Paul ThayerHe had it all: a wife and a mistress, a limousine and a motorcycle, the second-highest job at the Pentagon and some good-time Dallas buddies. Then the SEC took an interest in his life. Blissed-Out on the Beach of LoveAt a slightly wacky hotel in southern Mexico, you can lose your inhibitions and find a little romance. Age of InnocentsRemember when children played dress-up in their own clothes? They still can. |
The Night CrewThere are a hundred of them, and their job is invisibility. They come into giant office buildings after everyone has gone home and, if they do the job right, make the evidence of the day’s work disappear. Western Art: Pierre Was New in Town and Had Never Really Caught Anything BeforeAn interpretation of a classic genre. My Quest for the Perfect BiscuitIt all started at my grandmother’s when I was seven years old. No biscuit has since measured up, but my lonely search for that sublime confection continues. Texas Primer: The Permanent University FundIn 1883 the University of Texas got stuck with two million acres of West Texas scrubland. Then it hit oil, and the money started rolling in. |
Columns
Behind the LinesOn the Edge of Life BusinessHow Do You Spell Real Estate?Roger Staubach finds happiness by swapping Rolaids for real estate. BooksTangled LinesWilliam Humphrey’s Hostages to Fortune tells a sodden fishing story; C.W. Smith’s The Vestal Virgin Room tells of an empty quest for fame; Rosemary Catacalos’ Again for the First Time is an outstanding collection of verse. EducationGrading the High SchoolsUT reports on how well students from Texas schools do. |
Popular MusicCut From the Herd“Herd It Through the Grapevine,” a new disc anthology, has the top of the pop crop. Classical MusicOpera For BeginnersThe Public Opera of Dallas aimed its first season at opera greenhorns and scored two bull’s-eyes. MoviesPrince of WailsPrince’s Purple Rain is short on plot and dialogue but long on fancy anguish; The Bostonians is a namby-pamby treatment of Henry James’ biting novel. |
Reporter
ReporterTexas Monthly ReporterA new Henry Lee Lucas mystery in Lubbock |
Miscellany
Roar of the CrowdGreat café meals, dubious political deals, Luckenbach’s ideals. State SecretsTrauma for Texas hospitals; more trouble (what else?) for Clinton Manges; why Doggett should win—but probably won’t; and real deals in Houston. |
ToutsIt’s all here in black and white. Puzzle |
