December 2005

December 2005

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Features

Me of Little Faith

All I know for certain about religion is that the one my mother tried so hard to pass on to me just didn’t take.

by Jan Reid

Army Brat

More than anything, we hated the moves, the long drives in a hot car with squabbling siblings, then getting to the new post and having to be the new kid all over again.

by Michael Hall

Embarrassment of Riches

At Westlake, even if your parents wouldn’t spring for Ralph Lauren, you could still work your way into the in crowd.

by John Spong

Flatlander

People have an attitude about the Panhandle, as if living there is a hardship. To this day, they offer condolences when they learn where I’m from.

Photographs and text by Wyatt McSpadden

Midnight in the Garden of Memory

My San Antonio was an overgrown small town, socially stratified and inbred, controlled by a handful of old, wealthy families.

by Mimi Swartz

Christmas in Brownsville

My father, who had grown up on a farm, used to talk about his family’s killing a pig for the tamales, but this was back in the twenties.

by Oscar Casares

The Lost City

A few of the streets near what used to be downtown have familiar names, but Arlington has mutated into a disconnected clump of shopping malls, cul-de-sacs, and gated communities, faceless, soulless neighborhoods that give urban sprawl a bad name.

by Gary Cartwright

I of the Storm

The Gulf carried mendacity in every molecule. Its beauty, its tranquillity, was all a lie. It had created Galveston, carved out its deepwater port, tempted us with the promise of greatness, and then betrayed us.

by Paul Burka

Columns

Behind the Lines

Where I’m Of

The case for my Texanness.

by Evan Smith

Where I’m From

Bob Schieffer

Whenever I go to Fort Worth, I try to take a look at the little house where we lived. It’s amazing to think about what we went through.

As told to Christopher Keyes

Where I’m From

Kirbyjon Caldwell

One evening Ike and Tina came over for dinner to my mom and dad’s house. Tina kissed me on the forehead before I went to bed.

As told to Mimi Swartz

Where I’m From

Ethan Hawke

Larry McMurtry writes about how if you’re forced to leave Texas before you’re ready, before the state lets you go, you always dream of it.

As told to Pamela Colloff

Where I’m From

Lynn Wyatt

I had no clue about the amount of magic Texas held. Texas had a persona all its own, and I was proud to be a little smidgen part of it.

As told to Mimi Swartz

Where I’m From

Tish Hinojosa

It wasn’t until I moved away that I saw that a lot of art, a lot of what Texas is about, didn’t come only from San Antonio.

As told to Katharyn Rodemann

Where I’m From

Richard Linklater

The prison affected me personally. I grew up parking cars at the prison rodeo. I had a stepfather who was a prison guard.

As told to Katy Vine

Where I’m From

Lupe Valdez

As the daughter of migrant workers from South Texas, I was taught to value education, choose my friends wisely, and stay on the right side of the law.

As told to Christopher Keyes