May 2005
Table of Contents
Features
Since She’s Been GoneThe L.A. life of a girl from Burleson (or, You can take Kelly Clarkson out of Texas . . .). In AmericaThis winter I traveled to a handful of South Texas colonias to hear the stories of the people there. While I encountered many families living in deplorable conditions, I also witnessed countless acts of near-miraculous transformation. PugHe asked me if I was going to be white my whole life. I was, of course. But because of our friendship, I’m no longer the clueless upper-middle-class kid I once was. |
Where We RankHow Texas compares with the other 49 states in everything from the percentage of low-income children with health insurance (we’re dead last) to the number of executions (we’re first!). “We Are Going to Die In Here”What the seventy-plus illegal immigrants smuggled into Texas in the container of an eighteen-wheeler saw, felt, and, in the luckiest cases, survived. Old-timers’ DayDuking it out, after more than fifty years of friendship, over Ann Coulter, Terri Schiavo, the appeal of golf, and, inevitably, the decline of the Cowboys. |
Columns
Gary CartwrightMe and HimOnce upon a time I thought it was cool to question God’s existence. Not anymore. |
Patricia Kilday HartDown But Not OutNo one thinks the Democrats have a chance of winning the 2006 governor’s race. Which is exactly why you shouldn’t write them off. |
Reporter
ReporterStrangers on a TrainThere was something irresistibly romantic about the gutter punk’s description of stowing away in freight cars. No wonder I wanted to try it—even if, at 38, I probably should have thought to myself, “You’re too old for this.” Book ReviewThe Diezmo |
Book ReviewStill RiverBook ReviewChasing the RodeoMusic ReviewGimme FictionMusic ReviewSongs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South AsiaMusic ReviewFrances the Mute |
The Filter
Pat’s PickHibiscus |
Pat’s PickLiquid Assets |
Miscellany
Texas Monthly TalksLiz Smith“Nobody doing what I’m doing is important anymore. Not in the way Winchell, Kilgallen, Hedda, and Louella were important.” |
Roar of the CrowdSecond Opinions“Kinky, your absence is going to be more devastating than Dan Rather’s leaving the ‘sunken anchor’ biz. Please rethink your aspirations!” |
Web Exclusives
Under the CoverJeff Lipsky, who photographed Kelly Clarkson for this month’s cover, talks about working with celebrities and what it means to be “a natural.” Picture ThisFredrik Brodén, who took the photograph for Gary Cartwright and Dan Jenkins’s e-mail exchange, on inspiration and visualizing a concept. The StorytellerIllustrator Steve Brodner on the colonias of South Texas and communicating with pictures. The ConfessionalWriter-at-large Don Graham on Mary Karr’s recently reissued book The Liars’ Club and confessional memoirs. Fifteen Minutes and CountingExecutive editor Skip Hollandsworth, who wrote this month’s cover story, talks about pop sensation Kelly Clarkson and her fondness for bowling. Sources for “Where We Rank”The following references were taken from the second edition of Eliot Shapleigh’s “Texas on the Brink.” |
Darkness VisibleMarshall Arisman, who illustrated our excerpt from Dying to Cross, on depicting violence and working with color. Coming to AmericaTelevision journalist Jorge Ramos, the author of the book Dying to Cross, on immigration reform and being called the “voice of the voiceless.” Texas TidbitsThese fresh female faces know how to send a hit to the top of the charts. American Western Cooking From the Roaring ForkA review of American Western Cooking From the Roaring Fork . Happy TrailsArt, History, and Cooking 101—when it comes to a lesson in Hispanic culture, San Antonio gets an A+. Texas History 101The Texas Legislature’s pages and messengers have had a hand in running the state for decades. |
Recipes
Crab DipRecipe from Chef Nick Badovinus, Hibiscus, Dallas |
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