Table of Contents

June 2004

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Features

Coasting

Since I was a kid growing up on polluted Galveston Bay, I’ve held a grudge against the watery edge of Texas—but no more. Protected wetlands! Pelicans and turtles! Historic buildings! Edible oysters! And that’s not the half shell of it.

The Rehabilitation of Charlie Wilson

It happened in twelve steps, which is not surprising, given the legendary Lufkin lawmaker’s history with booze, broads, and bad behavior. For now, at least, it's taking.

Life and Meth

Around the Piney Woods, most people will tell you that they know someone who’s addicted to homemade speed. Drug recovery centers are overwhelmed; court dockets are backed up; jails are filled. There’s no end in sight.

An F for Effort

Or maybe the grade should be “incomplete.” The special legislative session on school finance proved that Rick Perry and Republican lawmakers care a lot more about reducing property taxes than about improving public schools. Anybody surprised?

His Mickey Mouse Ways

In a world full of evil dudes pretending to be good guys, Waylon Jennings was a good guy pretending to be an evil dude and never quite succeeding.

Columns

Behind the Lines

Media Culpa

Why you should distrust the press.

Jason Cohen

Lost in Translation

Hollywood often fumbles the sports movie—but it could get back in the game right here in Texas.

Anne Dingus

Going For the Jiggler

Explaining the enduring appeal of Jell-O can be as challenging as, well, nailing it to a tree.

Jan Jarboe Russell

Viva la Diferencia

A Harvard know-it-all predicts that the emerging Hispanic majority will be a drag on America. Tell it to your friends in Cambridge, bub.

Kinky Friedman

Ardor in the Court

Racehorse Haynes is every year's model for what a successful trial lawyer should be.

Reporter

Reporter

Class Warfare

When Sul Ross State University professor Larry Sechrest called his neighbors and students idiots and inbreds, the entire town of Alpine rose up against him. Not that he's changed his mind.

Reporter

Another Round?

Don't write off George Foreman.

Reporter

Queen High

A poker queen shows her hand.

Previews+Reviews

Books

The best new books from Texas.

Previews+Reviews

Music

The best new music from Texas.

The Filter

Pat's Pick

Cebu

Miscellaneous

Texas Monthly Talks

Bill Moyers

"War is always a great reinforcer of secrecy, but a war on terror is the most insidious threat to openness—you can always claim, without having to explain why, that something can't be public."

Happy Trails

A drive through the Hill Country and a brush with Texas's mystic side gave my world-weary self a breath of fresh air.

Atsbox

Play Dates

Recipe

Coke Salad

Web Extra

Fast Times

Senior editor Pamela Colloff on methamphetamine's grip on East Texas, talking to addicts, and what it's like to follow around narcotics investigators.

Web Extra

Charlie’s Angel

Associate editor John Spong on his twelve-step program for former congressman and wild man Charlie Wilson.

Web Extra

Going Coastal

Writer-at-large Suzy Banks talks about tourism in Galveston, moray eels in Kemah, and war stories in Port Isabel.

Texas History 101

Sul Ross State University may be small in size, but its commitment to education has been grand.

Texas Tidbits

Over the years, filmmakers have tried to capture the essence of Texas athletics through comedy and drama. These movies tackle the deep-seated sports culture of the state.