April 1999 Issue

On the Cover

Savoring the Private Ryan

Out of uniform, in his own words, Texas icon Nolan Ryan on baseball, ranching, values, and his love for his native state.

Features


Wing Tips

Where to see the painted bunting, the summer tanager, and other feathered friends: A guide to the best birding spots in Texas.

Secret Agent Men

Why are Randy and Alan Hendricks the only people in Houston who are glad Roger Clemens didn’t end up with the Astros? Hey, it comes with the job.

Feature

Pitching Josh Beckett

He throws a 95-mile-an-hour fastball, strikes out 2.1 batters per inning, and could be the number one pick in June’s big-league draft. Meet suburban Houston’s new teen sensation.

Feature

Kids in the Hall?

Don’t hang their plaques at Cooperstown just yet, but do applaud the accomplishments of Kerry Wood and Ben Grieve. After all, not everyone is Rookie of the Year.

Columns


Profile

TV or Not TV?

He’s no Seinfeld. He’s not even Jeff Foxworthy. But Galveston native Bill Engvall is a successful stand-up comic, and one day, just maybe, he’ll get a sitcom of his own.

Health

Bad Blood

You can’t call it a Texas disease, but meningococcemia—a blood-borne form of meningitis—afflicts a fair number of the state’s children. And if the FDA will let him, a Dallas pediatrician thinks he can treat it.

Art

Master Class

How a collection of paintings and drawings coveted by Sotheby’s and other art world Goliaths ended up at the University of Texas at Austin.

Travel

The Big Easier

Manageable crowds. Fabulous food. Great music. Authentic Cajun culture. Do you need any other reasons to visit Lafayette, Louisiana?

Reporter


Face

Jacob Sudhoff

What’s the first image that comes to mind when you think of a teenage salesman? A kid peddling khakis at the Gap? Well, consider Corpus Christi high school senior Jacob Sudhoff, who sells something more substantial: luxury homes. “I used to ride around my neighborhood on my bike and look

The Ex Files

Joe Morgan

My grandfather was still alive when I played my first season in the Astrodome. He came to a game with some of my relatives, and I hit a home run. That’s something I’ll never forget. My grandfather was such a big, big baseball fan. When I was a kid,

Hot Box

CD and Book Reviews

Hot CDsThe Texas Reunion (Skinny Records) is ostensibly a solo album from Skinny Don Keeling, the bass player in Don Walser’s Pure Texas Band. But since Keeling appears as the bassist and/or singer on only half the CD’s twelve cuts, he’s better described as a ringleader. He chose the material

State Secrets

Heady Lamar

Several Sundays a year, Texans wake to find not one but two GOP presidential hopefuls inside the state’s borders.

Web


Recipe

Ginger Soy Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin3 pork tenderloins (10 to 12 ounces each) salt and ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons olive oilPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove membrane and fat from tenderloins and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat, add olive oil, and lightly sear

Recipe

Twice-Baked Potatoes

3 medium Idaho or other baking potatoes 6 florets broccoli 6 florets cauliflower 6 ounces sour cream 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 6 ounces white cheddar, cut in 1/2-inch chunks 6 tablespoons sliced green onions (whole stem) 1 tablespoon Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, or to taste 6 dashes Tabasco

Recipe

Ginger Soy Sauce

1 cup sake 1/2 cup red-wine vinegar 1/3 cup low-salt soy sauce 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced ginger 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced garlicPlace all ingredients in a large sauté pan and simmer until the liquid coats the back of a spoon, 20 minutes or more

Miscellany


The Inside Story

Emotion Pictures

Charles Ommanney has seen more than his share of tragedy. A native of Great Britain who now calls Texas home, the 33-year-old photojournalist began his career as a war correspondent for the Times of London, photographing the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, massacres in Rwanda, and destitute refugees in

Roar of the Crowd

Movie Magic

BECAUSE I WAS BLESSED WITH THE GREATEST BIRTH, childhood, and adolescence in Terrell, watching The Last Picture Show was like a guest shot on This Is Your Life. [“Picture Perfect,” February 1999]. As an L.A. show-biz P.R. type in the early seventies, I breathlessly awaited opening night and sat alone

Around the State

Around the State

Root, root, root for the home teams at the Astrodome and the Ballpark in Arlington. Plus: The lights go up (again) at the State Theater in Austin; motorized masterpieces parade through the streets of Houston; a world-premiere opera in Houston resurrects an old story; and Bonnie and Clyde’s steps are

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