Special Delivery

Morsels by mail, potables by post—let Texas’ mail-order food companies set your holiday table.

by Patricia Sharpe

Deep in the Heart of Mexico

What’s wrong with Mexico is exactly what’s right with it.

by Dick J. Reavis

The Louie File

Just how good were the good ol’ days, when Louie Welch was mayor of Houston?

by Mimi Swartz

The Kathy Ratings

Kathy Whitmire’s substantial achievements as mayor of Houston are overshadowed by her bad public image and political ineptitude—not a good situation for a candidate seeking a third term.

by Susan Chadwick

Texas Primer: The Wishbone Offense

Darrell Royal’s supremely simple invention took Texas teams to the top and kept them there.

by Jim Atkinson

Tower Play

Houston’s Transco Tower can’t hide from a camera bent on seeing it from every vantage point.

Photography by Steve Brady

The Chips Are Down

The real Texas technology picture is much more intricate than either the mad hype of two years ago or the dire headlines of today make it out to be.

by Peter Applebome

The Dream Lives On

Four of the many small high-tech companies betting that they have the excitement, momentum, market, and business savvy to succeed where others have failed.

by Byron Harris

When the Well Runs Dry

In parts of Texas drought is a steady boarder who may stray but always comes home for supper.

by Elmer Kelton

Western Art: Indian Summer

by Etienne Delessert

Jazz

Beyond the Standard

Those who think there’s nothing new under the sun should check out the superior jazz improvisations on three recently released albums.

by Doug Ramsey

Behind the Lines

by Gregory Curtis

Classical Music

True to the Past

Forget all that debate about early instruments versus modern ones for eighteenth-century music.

by W. L. Taitte

Great Outdoors

Hill Country Pearls

Real treasure lies buried in the muddy, mushy silt of our rivers and lakes.

by Ira Kennedy

Movies

Waxy Buildup

Plenty isn’t enough; Year of the Dragon is a yellow-devil hysteria; uncompromised casting makes Compromising Positions click; Volunteers imposes eighties cynicism on sixties idealism.

by James Wolcott

Popular Music

Dancing in the Streets

Tuff Enuff, the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ fifth and finest album, has a snap, crackle, and pop that could finally make the T-Birds explode.

by Jody Denberg

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

The villains behind the seat belt law; the shoeshine boys behind the border bird trade; the pastor behind Austin’s chicest church.

by Dick K. Reavis

Back Roads

Robots in feedlots, Krishnas as cowboys, Nowhere but Texas.

by Peter Applebome

Post-Modern Times

Today’s with-it seniors are settling in American’s newest retirement boomtown—Kerrville.

by Michael Ennis

Downtown

The maddest crowd in town? The incensed citizens at the Dallas Auto Pound who have to shell out for the privilege of reclaiming their towed vehicles.

by Jim Atkinson

Touts

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s—Halley’s Comet!

by Patricia Sharpe

Roar of the Crowd

Puzzle

State Secrets

Rough sailing for the water plan; sore losers at MHMR; a free ride for Mattox; now a word on behalf of ambulance chasing.

Edited by Paul Burka