1986

The Wright House

For the first time since Sam Rayburn’s day, the Speaker of the House will be a Texan. And if Jim Wright of Fort Worth is to be successful, he’ll have to remember what Rayburn taught him.

The Last Resort

Texans are always looking for a new frontier, a place where business people can do business without worrying about a lot of bureaucrats. Want to make it in Texas today? Come to Belize.

Making It in the Bust

At a time when Texas seems to have lost its gift for creating fortunes, there has emerged a group of entrepreneurs who are making money by catering to the needs of people who are going broke.

Famous Fixers

They have done it all: saved New York City and Massachusetts, written economic classics, created new companies, and turned old ones around. Now, at our request, they’re fixing Texas.

Lessons From the Golden Apple

Empty office buildings . . . bankrupt developers . . . budget deficits. It’s Manhattan, 1975. Things sure have changed, and by learning from some Yankee real estate barons, maybe we can find a way out of our troubles.

Against the Grain

One school of thought holds that when the economy is in a nosedive, that’s the time to go into business. At least that’s what a farmer, an oilman, a developer, and a banker believe.

Advice From the Experts

We gave a bunch of smart Texans $50,000. (Okay, we didn’t really, we just said we did.) The money comes with these strings attached: it has to be invested in Texas now, and the investments have to pay off by 1996.

Southern Biscuit Muffins

Recipe from Castle Hill Cafe, Austin10 cups flour 1 cup sugar 6 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 pound margarine cubed 4 cups cold milkThese are bite-size muffins; use a small-muffin pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix

On the Menu: Castle Hill Cafe

ONE OF THE FEW COMPLAINTS we have ever heard about Castle Hill Cafe is that it is too loud—which is true. But the acoustics in this former grocery store built in 1896 are only partly at fault. Blame instead the multitude of loyal customers who flock to this low-key and

Keeping up with the Perots; pomp-adoring Charlie Sexton; sewing up the ses-quilt-centennial.

How Sheik Yamani’s departure will affect the price of oil; what the new immigration law will do to Texas; analyzing the election returns.

Texas Monthly Reporter

Screaming headlines and shameless photos make Laredo’s El Arma! the largest-selling Spanish weekly in the U.S.; Norbert Lyssy has mile to go before he sleeps (soundly); within our midst lies an alien and insurgent clan, the New England of Texas.

Scratch Shot

The Color of Money veers off into technique; Police goes flaccid; Menage succumbs to mystification; Round Midnight reduces jazz to a dirge; Something Wild has a lurid kick.

Wide-open Blues

From James Clay to John Park, Texas tenor sax masters prove their mettle on new LPs.

Short and Sweet

Festive Mexican pastries give a new perspective on snacking. Here’s where to find them.

Touch Me, Feel Me, Heal Me!

I was curious when I found that three of my friends had delved into the mysteries of psychic surgery. After three “bloody operations” of my own, I knew what it was all about. About $30 a minute.

No Dancin’ In Anson

It doesn’t matter whether you want to two-step or tango. In this church-run town, one commandment rules supreme: Thou Shalt Not Boogie.

Moments of Glory

Texas Medal of Honor winners remember the day when they were invincible.

Why Inman Left

The departure of MCC’s chief signals a new beginning for the company—and an end to Austin’s high-tech boom.

On the Menu: Earl Abel’s

Earl Abel’s is closed.

On the Menu: Wildfire

It’s probably not fitting to call Georgetown a small town anymore. With incredible growth brought on by development in north Austin and Round Rock, a considerable university population and a burgeoning cultural scene, it’s hardly Mayberry, USA. But it does have a town square, a lunch counter, a historic

Touts

Porgy and bass.

The Quidnunc

Sizing up Phyllis Diller; foiling Esquire’s great expectations; hopping continents with honeymooners Lloyd and Joanne Davis.

State Secrets

Who’ll follow Fred Akers at UT? Environmentalists and sportsmen team up to black a dam; two congressional races are political barometers.

No Commercial Interruptions

You can buy almost anything on shopper’s TV, if you have the patience to sit and watch it.

Roar of the Crowd

Appreciation of the desert; recognition of a leader among women; development of Grand Prairie.

Texas Monthly Reporter

Will the beaches of Boca Chica become sand traps? Will hard-core punkers perform on Dallas’ favorite kiddie show. Peppermint Place? Will Texas Republicans shell out for their Great Hispanic Hope.

Puzzle

Breaking up is hard to do.

Texas Primer: Frito Pie

A rhapsody of the perfection of corn chips, chili, cheese, and onions, mixed in a bag.

Who Made the Cut?

On LPs spurred by the MTV limelight, Timbuk3 blends street beast with witty wordplay, the True Believers combine six-string moxie with striving vocals, and the Tail Gators pack a sonic wallop.

Ball of Glitter

Technologically, Captain EO is a marvel, but the plot is banal to the point of retrograde; Touch and Go has drive and laughs; True Stories has no stories; The Men’s Club is a stag party with pretensions; Shanghai Surprise is a passable waste of time.

Shadows in the Garden

A splash of lace, a sultry drape—what could be more romantic than a long black dress?

The Ballad of Fess Parker

He was the definitive Davy Crockett, and with good reason.

Davy Crockett, Still King of the Wild Frontier

He was a master of tall tales and a genius at self-promotion. But was he anything more?

Behind the Lines

The unknown enemy.

Forty-two Per Cent Potent

In the novel Paradise, Donald Barthelme offers a cereal box of current events and social observations; Laura Furman challenges the dogged ideal of family in Tuxedo Park; Karleen Koen’s Through a Glass is a crash-bang publishing event.

Animal Magnetism

Melissa Miller’s lions and tiger confront demons, dance under the moon, and reflect the ambiguity of the modern world.

Texas Primer: The Texas Institute of Letters

Belonging to this literary club is a lot like becoming a Texan; you can be a newcomer for only so long.

The Eye of the Beholder

A museum in Texas is the last place Jacques-Louis David would expect to find his late masterpiece, but we’re glad it’s here.

Beyond Halloween

On the Day of the Dead, Mexicans mock death with candy skulls and papier-mâché coffins. But in the darkness of a graveside vigil, the mockery gives way to tears.

The Strange Case of Mark White

The governor has a good record, good ideas, and good intentions. So why is he in danger of losing his job to a man he already beat once?.

After the Tears

Cambodian Lay Bun Sun escaped the terrors of the Khmer Rouge to film his dreams in Houston.

Going for Broke

In boom times, John Connally and Ben Barnes used their political magic to build a sprawling real estate empire. Now they’re in a desperate struggle to keep themselves afloat.

Cappyccino’s White Chili

Recipe from Cappyccino’s 5003 Broadway Alamo Heights

On the Menu – Cappyccino’s

Cappyccino’s 10 Ideas To Improve Life Say please and thanks Avoid malls, discounters, and mass merchants Take Sundays off Plant seeds Enjoy sunrises and sunsets Make 100 year decisions Mass media only in moderation Balance high-tech and high-touch Reward teachers, artists,

Touts

The Quidnunc

Governor White nods off; Watauga policeman on the wagon; debutante dos and don’ts.

The Museum That Time Forgot

It’s one of the best-kept secrets in the state. But what the Texas Memorial Museum needs is somebody’s attention.

State Secrets

A price for peace on the Guadalupe River; favorites and long shots in the Texas racetrack derby; a key decision for Lloyd Bentsen.