March 2011 Issue

On the Cover

The Great Terquasquicentennial Road Trip

Some people call it a quartoseptcentennial, or a septaquintaquinquecentennial (seriously), but you’d better save your breath. You’ll need it on this wide-ranging 6,000-mile voyage commemorating Texas’s 175th birthday. It starts in Glen Rose, ends in Austin, and stops along the way at 175 places that tell the story of the state, from the grassy field in La Porte where independence was won to the parking garage in Dallas where the Super Bowl was dreamed up; from the Austin dorm room where Dell Inc. was born to the college hall in Houston where Barbara Jordan learned to debate; from the hotel in San Antonio where Lydia Mendoza recorded “Mal Hombre” to the—well, you get the idea. And you’d better get started. The road awaits . . .

Features


151–175

From the construction of the state’s first public university in College Station to the swearing in of Governor Rick Perry for a third full term in Austin

26–50

From Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore beginning their affair in Richardson to Robert Rauschenberg, Janis Joplin, and Jimmy Johnson graduating from high school in Port Arthur

Columns


Letter From Houston

Schoolhouse Rocked

How an angry parent’s e-mail turned an elite Houston private school into a political battleground.

Reporter


Gruene

1. Alibi BoutiqueGruene’s unofficial motto may be “Gently Resisting Change Since 1872,” but a new(ish) retail spot southwest of the town’s historic heart has shoppers altering their usual itinerary. This fashionable women’s shop could double as the personal closet of an eco-minded, paparazzi-aware young actress. Decked out in an organic

Pretty Ugly

Why a lavish two-volume attack on the border fence, with photos by Maurice Sherif, misses the mark.

How to Shoe a Horse

Wild horses, which can cover up to twenty miles a day, wouldn’t think of having their hooves done, but leave it to humans to change all that. “When we domesticated the animal, ten thousand years ago, we restricted its movement,” says John Burgin, the owner of the Texas Horse-shoeing School,

Jody Blackburn, Folk Healer and Tarot Reader

Blackburn is the founder of the Magick Circle, in Brownsville, where he offers card readings, cleansings, and spiritual healing.I first learned about folk healing from an elderly woman in my neighborhood named Rita. None of our neighbors in Brownsville liked her much. They called her la bruja. The witch. I

Web


151–175

From the construction of the state’s first public university in College Station to the swearing in of Governor Rick Perry for a third full term in Austin

26–50

From Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore beginning their affair in Richardson to Robert Rauschenberg, Janis Joplin, and Jimmy Johnson graduating from high school in Port Arthur

The Drop Everything List

Throw your plans out the window. We scoured the state in search of the top events and offerings, from the opera in Houston and Friday night lights in Odessa to surfing along the coast and hiking in the mountains. Here’s our super select guide to the things you absolutely

Miscellany


Roar of the Crowd

Roar of the Crowd

Bum RushTrue to his Arkansas hillbilly roots, Jerry Jones has become little more than a buffoon, sporting bad toupees for the national television cameras that are recording his weird mannerisms and spasmodic antics during his team’s games. And now you crown him and his roster of overpaid underachievers Bum Steers

Past Present

Big moments call for big efforts. This year marks the 175th anniversary of the victory of Sam Houston’s ragtag band of volunteers over the Mexican army, which led to the creation of the sovereign Republic of Texas. In the almost two centuries since then, much has changed. Texas is now

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