Some TEXAS MONTHLY Stories on Community
The Unusual Suspects »
The arson of the Governor’s Mansion in June was as mystifying as it was heartbreaking. Could Austin anarchists have been to blame?
by Pamela Colloff [December 2008]
I Don’t Like Ike »
Here comes the story of the hurricane.
by Mimi Swartz [November 2008]
My Frail Island »
The damage done by Hurricane Ike to Galveston, my beloved hometown, is in many ways worse than you’ve read about. And I’m not only talking about the physical devastation.
by Paul Burka [November 2008]
Access Denied »
Why the closing of a footbridge to Mexico is bad for Candelaria.
by Katy Vine [October 2008]
It Took a Village »
Two Candelaria residents discuss the dismantled footbridge.
[October 2008]
Cowboy Up »
Novelist Elmer Kelton talks with editor Evan Smith about
growing up in the world of the true working cowboy.
[July 2008]
No Place Like Home »
Bienvenidos a Farmers Branch, the headline-worthy Dallas suburb where the biggest hard-liner on illegal immigration could soon be known as Mr. Mayor.
by Karen Olsson [May 2008]
The Terror of Tarrytown »
How the owner of the first shopping center in Austin is destroying it—one banned candy bar at a time.
by Gary Cartwright [September 2007]
Kenney Rocks »
My hometown sings a new song.
by Suzy Banks [July 2007]
Lust in Space »
The lovesick antics of diapered astronaut Lisa Nowak are some combination of funny and sad but seemingly not revealing of anything larger, until you realize that her tragic, tabloidy breakdown says everything you need to know about NASA’s many troubles.
by S. C. Gwynne [May 2007]
Made in America »
A generation after he crossed the border to work for my family, Vicente Martinez is the foreman of a ranch in the Hill Country, not far from his kids and grandkids. And yes, they all have their papers. This is an immigration story with a happy ending.
by Robert Draper [May 2007]
The Gang’s All Here »
When the rough-and-tumble bikers known as the Bandidos gathered in San Antonio for the funeral of one of their beloved members, they swore a lot, drank a lot, defended themselves against the police and the public’s misperceptions, and—amazingly— let a reporter observe the whole fascinating scene.
by Skip Hollandsworth [April 2007]
“Oh, My God! It’s Our Children!” »
On March 18, 1937, the residents of New London, southeast of Tyler, endured the worst small-town tragedy in U.S. history: an explosion at the combined junior-senior high school that killed some three hundred students and teachers. Seventy years later, 47 survivors share their memories of that horrific day.
by Katy Vine [March 2007]
Family Values »
It may surprise you to learn that gay couples in Texas are more likely to have children than those in most other states, or that San Antonio is a gay parenting mecca, with a higher percentage of gay households with children than any other U.S. city. So why are gay parents in such a state of legal limbo here? And why won’t the Legislature get government off their backs?
by Nate Blakeslee [March 2007]
Glove Story »
Why an iconic sporting-goods company survived a devastating fire.
by S. C. Gwynne [March 2007]
The Beating of Billy Ray Johnson »
The short, slight, mentally disabled black man was found on the side of a road in Linden, huddled in a fetal position. He was bloody and unconscious—the victim of a violent crime. But another tragedy was how residents of the East Texas town reacted.
by Pamela Colloff [February 2007]
“You Don’t Want to Know What We Do After Dark” »
The young, tattooed men who are members of the Southwest Cholos, La Primera, La Tercera Crips, Somos Pocos Pero Locos, Mara Salvatrucha, and other Houston gangs are vicious career criminals who regularly rob innocent people in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. They steal cars and break into businesses. They deal drugs on street corners. And they constantly wage war with one another.
by Skip Hollandsworth [December 2006]
Man About Town »
That old mad dog Carlton Carl takes Martindale. Literally.
by Gary Cartwright [November 2006]
The Desert of the Dead »
While politicians and bureaucrats endlessly debate the best ways to secure our borders, illegal immigrants are dying to get into America—literally.
by Pamela Colloff [November 2006]
96 Minutes »
At 11:48 a.m. on August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman began firing his rifle from the top of the University of Texas Tower at anyone and everyone in his sights. At 1:24 p.m., he was gunned down himself. The lives of the people who witnessed the sniper’s spree firsthand would never be the same again.
by Pamela Colloff [August 2006]
My Life As an Illegal »
You’ve heard enough from the politicians and the activists, the demagogues and the bleeding hearts. Here’s my story. I only wish I could put my name on it. By Immigrant X
As told to John Spong [July 2006]
The Truth Is Out There »
Spoiler alert: The mythic Marfa lights may not be real. But there’s no way to know for sure, and that’s why they’re cool.
by Michael Hall [June 2006]
The Gangstas of Godwin Park »
Whatever else you can say about it, the life and death of Bellaire High School junior Jonathan Finkelman is a tragic tale of drugs, money, race, and MySpace.
by Mimi Swartz [June 2006]
“Beldades” Of the Ball »
Every February, on the weekend of Presidents’ Day, the daughters of Laredo’s most prominent families are presented to society in dresses that cost $20,000 or more at a colonial pageant that is the party of the year.
by Pamela Colloff [April 2006]
Gone in 15 Minutes »
How the fire to end all fires obliterated Ringgold—and how residents of the tiny North Texas town are putting their lives back together.
by Katy Vine [April 2006]
Heartbreak High »
If the war is an unpleasant abstraction in the rest of the country, it’s omnipresent at Killeen Shoemaker, where many of the children of the enlisted men and women of Fort Hood are enrolled—and pray for peace every single day.
by Mimi Swartz [March 2006]
Y’all Come Back »
Homecoming in the town of Spur means football, the crowning of a queen, parades, pep rallies, barbecue, a bonfire, and so much more.
by Skip Hollandsworth [December 2005]
Dome Away From Home »
Inside the Eighth Wonder of the World—the largest shelter ever organized by the American Red Cross—faith, hope, and charity helped the survivors of Hurricane Katrina begin the process of rebuilding their lives.
by John Spong [November 2005]
Welcome to the Dome »
Associate editor John Spong talks about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, its survivors living in the Astrodome, and new beginnings.
Interview by Patricia Busa McConnico [November 2005]
Tomb It May Concern »
How do you get into the state cemetery?
by Christopher Keyes [October 2005]
Wheel in the Sky »
For the residents of a tiny Panhandle town, a horrific accident at the State Fair fifty years ago reverberates still—and will haunt them forever.
by Robert Draper [October 2005]
Girls Gone Wild »
Bobbi Jo and Jennifer were young, in love, and on the road, with the wind at their backs and a happy future ahead of them. All that stood in their way was a dead body back in Mineral Wells.
by Katy Vine [September 2005]
Borderline Insanity »
How else to describe the murder and mayhem and fear that have gripped Nuevo Laredo for months—and are now spilling over into Texas?
by Cecilia Ballí [August 2005]
Exiles on Main Street »
If you were a Somali refugee arriving in San Antonio—and America—for the first time, with a family in tow and no modern life skills to speak of, what would you do? Eat chicken, shop at H-E-B, and figure out how to pay the rent.
by Jim Lewis [July 2005]
She’s Here. She’s Queer. She’s Fired. »
When the girls’ basketball coach at the only high school in Bloomburg moved in with another woman, it cost her a job and at least a few friends. But the tumult over a lesbian relationship in this tiny East Texas town wasn’t the end of the story.
by Pamela Colloff [July 2005]
In America »
This 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.
by Steve Brodner [May 2005]
Inhumane Society »
In 2004 San Antonio euthanized some 49,000 cats and dogs—more per capita than any other major city in the United States—using an outdated, sometimes painful method that has been criticized for years. The expression “not fit for a dog” resonates.
Portfolio by Roberto Guerra [March 2005]
My Pet Project »
Even stray cats and dogs need a Gandhi-like figure.
by Kinky Friedman [February 2005]
“She Had Brains, a Body, and the Ability To Make Men Love Her” »
Meet the 22-year-old hooker who, with her fellow “massage therapists,” scandalized Odessa
by Katy Vine [January 2005]
Cold Play »
The Astros couldn’t quite make it. The Cowboys have hit the skids. No wonder the state’s attention has turned to . . . hockey?
by Jason Cohen [December 2004]
The Good Doctor »
Can one of the state’s best writers change modern medicine as we know it? Abraham Verghese hopes so—one story at a time.
by Jan Reid [December 2004]
Shock Therapy »
For several months, TV shrink Dr. Phil McGraw has been picking apart— in full view of his national audience—the life choices made by residents of the Central Texas town of Elgin, who are apparently too fat, too horny, and too domestically violent for their own good. The diagnoses have not been, shall we say, well received.
by Katy Vine [December 2004]
Keep Gomorrah Weird »
A passionate, pointed, and in retrospect, pot-induced defense of Austin.
by Kinky Friedman [December 2004]
Good Vibrations »
How a woman who sold sex toys in Burleson became public enemy number one and survived the bad buzz.
by Skip Hollandsworth [October 2004]
State of Emergency »
As more and more children fall off the health-insurance
rolls, chaos reigns at Children's Medical Center Dallas,
which used to have the best pediatric ER in Texas, and
the quality of care for everyone suffers.
by Jim Atkinson [October 2004]
Yes in My Backyard »
To say that the private prison in Eden doesn't creep out
the locals is an understatement. They're downright
thankful for the place.
by Jason Cohen [September 2004]
"The Buzz About Marfa Is Just Crazy" »
A century after the cowboys and ranchers moved in on
the local Apaches, Comanches, and Tejanos, the West
Texas town is adjusting to a new breed of excitable
invaders: Hollywood fashion arbiters, New York art-
world youngsters, Houston superlawyers, and the like.
Cappuccino, anyone?
by Michael Hall [September 2004]
Alive and Kicking »
Although some might consider the Kilgore Rangerettes
an anachronism, every summer dozens of fresh-faced
teens from around the state flock to East Texas to
perfect a seemingly effortless hat-brim-touching high
kick—and preserve one of the state's great
traditions.
by Katy Vine [September 2004]
Wrecked »
The car crash that killed four teenage girls in Tatum last
September is an East Texas version of a Greek tragedy,
one that has forced the tiny town's residents to address
some of life's most agonizing questions: When the worst
things happen—when the most heartbreaking
events come into your life to stay—whom do you
blame? Whom should you blame?
by Skip Hollandsworth [September 2004]
Reversal of Fortune »
Eight years ago, 42 people in the West Texas town of
Roby—7 percent of the population—pooled
their money, bought lottery tickets, and won $46 million.
And that's when their luck ran out.
by Pamela Colloff [September 2004]
45 Years (Sat Nov 22 at 5:28 PM)
Can You Spare Some Change I Can Believe In? (Sat Nov 22 at 4:10 PM)
Even Worse, They're Cutting Back on Monocles (Fri Nov 21 at 8:39 AM)
