Table of Contents

April 2003

Find the access code — required to read stories online — on the third contents page in the most recent issue of Texas Monthly. Subscribers can also visit our Customer Care page to get the code. Subscribe now and get instant access.

Features

The Ghosts of Mount Carmel

Ten years after eighty Davidians died in a government-led siege, a few surviving members of the sect have returned to the plains east of Waco, looking for something. And, in some cases, waiting for David Koresh to return.

The Old Country

I've become a sort of pessimistic accepter of the changes that have beset the Hill Country in recent years, unacceptable though many of them may be. But I'm grateful for having experienced the hills earlier, when change was slight—and grateful too for corners and stretches still untouched.

Head for the Hills

A friendly bar in Johnson City, a grand old opry in Mason, a cabin with a view of the Sabinal Canyon, and 22 other things I love about the Hill Country.

The Whistle-Blower

What has Sherron Watkins' life been like since she exposed the financial shenanigans of her colleagues at Enron? Well, she may be one of Time's "Persons of the Year," but she's not necessarily one of Houston's.

Heaven & Earth

The break-up of the space shuttle Columbia was a chilling reminder that the astronauts who dare to dream and risk their lives for the benefit of all mankind are, at the end of the day, mere mortals.

Columns

Behind the Lines

Hoodwinked

My solution for the school-finance mess.

Cartwright's Texas

—30—

Blackie Sherrod probably hates the word "retired," but that's what he is now—and newspaper readers across Texas are the poorer for it.

Health

Mold Age

Are the toxic fungi that launched a thousand lawsuits really as dangerous as everyone says? Don't believe the hype.

Great Outdoors

Ride On

To the long list of reasons to visit Fort Worth these days, add this: outstanding bike trails.

Art

The Minimalist

The real revelation of Donald Judd's early work is how far ahead of its time it looks—not simply its own time, but our time as well.

Reporter

Reporter

Lost and Found

When the space shuttle Columbia plunged to earth, it fell to some of us in East Texas to pick up the pieces.

Reporter

In Other News

A tale of greed and lawlessness in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Reporter

Troubled Water?

The Austin American-Statesman versus Barton Springs.

The Filter

Pat's Pick

Best Fests

Pat's Pick

Primary Flavors

Pat's Pick

Pat's Pick

Miscellaneous

The Last Roundup

Change, Pardners

Free the Hill Country!

Recipe

Fried Green Tomatoes

Five great fried-green tomato recipes from Ocotillo Restaurant, Lajitas; Suze, Dallas; La Mansión del Rio Hotel, San Antonio; Hoover's Cooking, Austin; and Texas Monthly staffer Brandi Nance.

Recipe

Strawberry Shortcake Recipes

Two delicious strawberry-shortcake recipes from The Best from Helen Corbitt's Kitchens and Cooking Texas Style: A Heritage of Traditional Recipes.

Web Extra

Country Reporter

Writer-at-large Suzy Banks talks about her feature story, "Head for the Hills."

Web Extra

Underneath It All

Misty Keasler talks about her young photography career and the intense images she captures, including this month's photos of the present-day Branch Davidian compound.

Web Extra

Ground Coverage

Photographer O. Rufus Lovett discusses the three days he spent documenting the haunting wreckage of Columbia in East Texas.

Web Extra

Walking Among Ghosts

Senior editor Michael Hall revisits Waco's Branch Davidians and describes the challenges and nuances of writing about the remaining followers and the controversies of their tragic history.

Web Extra

Staying Power

Not sure where to stay when you go to the Hill Country? Don't worry. I've found the best places, from a historic hotel to a caboose.

Books That Cook

Fresh: Healthy Cooking and Living From Lake Austin Spa Resort

Fresh: Healthy Cooking and Living From Lake Austin Spa Resort

Happy Trails

The little Hill Country town of Luckenbach is more than a tourist stop; it's a place to make new friends and hear some music.

Texas Tidbits

People like to call Waco "Wacko" because it just goes with the name. But we think we may have found some truth to "Wacko" after all.

Texas History 101

Most of Mason's history is as quiet and agreeable as the modern-day town, but the late nineteenth—century Hoodoo War was the exception to the rule.