A Legacy of Evil

In the town George Parr once dominated, a nineteen-year-old mother was gang-raped by her neighbors. In the aftermath of the crime, the old horrors of San Diego have surfaced anew.

by Mimi Swartz

Do I Make a Difference?

A kindergarten teacher tells what she learned in school.

by Roberta Wright

I’m Right and Everyone in Texas is Wrong

They don’t use air conditioning, they don’t drive cars, they don’t watch football—yet they dare to call themselves Texans.

Air Conditioning? Who Needs It?

It’s Simple: people’s teeth should not chatter in the summer.

by Suzanne Winckler

Cars? No thanks, I’d Rather Walk

You pay for interest, gas, oil, repairs, and insurance. I pay for shoe leather.

by David Stansbury

Football? What’s the Big Deal?

As much as I hated playing football, I hate watching it more.

by Stephen Harrigan

Posed for Posterity

The portraits of a long-forgotten studio photographer yield images of dignity in a small Texas town.

Hot Pots

How did bluebonnets and cacti get that glazed look?

by Jerry Jeanmard

Off the Road Again

Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic at Carl’s Corner was the picnic to end all picnics. It did just that.

Texas Primer: Bush vs. Bentsen

Eighteen years after their Senate race determined the course of Texas politics, their rivalry may determine the course of national politics.

by Paul Burka

Politics

Getting Serious

As Ann Richards joked her way to political stardom in Atlanta, Jim Mattox wasn’t laughing.

by Patricia Kilday Hart

Behind the Lines

Messin’ with Texas.

by Gregory Curtis

Health

Against All Odds

When the doctor told me my third child had Down’s Syndrome, I knew that my life had changed forever.

by Lisa Wilson

Texana

Family Trees

Outside of town, in the Big Thicket, lived Texas’ most exotic wildlife—and most of it was human.

by Gail Gilchriest

Classical Music

When Words Collide

At the opera house back on Earth, music sometimes overwhelms sense. But out on Planet 8 you couldn’t hear the music for the words.

by Chester Rosson

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

Channel 5 in Fort Worth hits forty; Elvis fever hits Waco; a would-be DA hits a snag in Raymondville; and Hangs Book is a hit with fishermen.

by Joe Nick Patoski

Roar of the Crowd

Getting more bang for the buck; remembering a muddy, moody river; banking on Texas; sharing a Texas tradition.

State Secrets

The Air Force takes over Big Bend; NCNB takes over First Republic; Dukakis takes over Bentsen; and who wil take an empty Senate seat?

Edited by Paul Burka