December 2008
Table of Contents
Features
The Republic of ChadEight years ago, the closest presidential election ever was settled in a political street fight. In this oral history of the Florida recount, the victors recall the unbelievable twists and turns that put George W. Bush in the White House. The 40 Best Small-Town CafesOur exhaustive, exhausting, strictly scientific (and lamentably fattening) survey of the finest home cooking around, from Maxine’s on Main, in Bastrop, to El Paraiso, in Zapata. Plus:Easy as PiePie Happy Hour every weekday at the Blue Bonnet Cafe. Comfort FoodA slide show of images from the state’s best small-town cafes. Fried Green PicklesGood eats at the Texan Cafe. Ann Dickenson, RegularWhy Ann Dickenson keeps coming back to Donald Citrano’s Coffee Shop Cafe, in McGregor. Grady and Lorine Glass, RegularsWhy Grady and Lorine Glass keep coming back to the H&H Cafe and Bakery, in Yoakum. Allen and Pat Knight, Owner and PiemakerWhy the Knights love working at Peabody’s, in Goldthwaite. The FugitiveFriends and family knew Deborah Murphey as a mild-mannered nurse and a loving wife and mother. Then a U.S. marshal knocked on her door. |
He Saw the LightWyman Meinzer takes the most amazing pictures of Texas skies you’ve ever seen. Here are seven unforgettable shots from his new book. Before and AfterFor some residents of Mount Pleasant, the April 16 immigration raid on the local chicken plant was no more than a segment on the evening news. For others, including many legal residents of the tiny East Texas town, it was the moment everything changed. |
Columns
Sarah BirdThe Goodbye BoyMy only son is leaving for college, and I’m weeping through Mamma Mia! Lord help me. Letter From AustinThe Unusual SuspectsThe arson of the Governor’s Mansion in June was as mystifying as it was heartbreaking. Could Austin anarchists have been to blame? |
Reporter
The Filter
Miscellany
Roar of the CrowdDazed and ConfusedContributorsPatricia Sharpe, Oscar Casares, and Adam Wiseman |
Editor’s LetterIn With the New |
Web Exclusives
Jeff GuinnAn extended interview with Jef Guinn, author of The Christmas Chronichles. Bruce Robison and Kelly WillisAn extended interview with Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis. She Gets ItThe past two administrations have appointed women to the most prestigious position in the cabinet, no longer relegating those of the female persuasion to the thankless roles of First Lady. Slow to EvolveThe reason so many Texans testified in favor of strong language supporting evolution in the TEKS is because they’re having to play defense and they’re losing. Auto PilotWith the Big Three teetering on the brink, it’s worth noting that the Toyota plant in San Antonio is still motoring. Oh, what a feeling! |
What’s in Your Wallet?If you decided that 2008 was the year for you to cut yourself off from society, shed all material belongings, live off the land, and grow your own food, then you’ve got a pretty good head start. Someone’s BlagojevichSenior editors John Spong and Michael Hall on the arrest of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich on federal corruption charges. (Okay, really we just wanted to know if they could spell Blagojevich.) Thy Rod and Thy StaffHow the Illinois governor got caught with his pants down. The Regents RespondScott Caven, chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, writes in response to Mimi Swartz’s column on UTMB. The Mysterious Case of the Coat Tree and the Handsome ManA week before Thanksgiving, I arrived home after work to find a coat tree standing in my front yard. |
Multimedia
Twelve Chapters of “Twin Wells.”Listen to each author read a chapter. |
