1993 – Page 3 of 5

1993: The Best and Worst Legislators

Our biennial boosting and bashing of the state’s most beguiling politicians.

Paid to Do Injustice

Moving Pictures

A provocative San Antonio exhibit captures the flash and fervor of the Chicano movement in art and politics.

Green Highways

If you want to see the real Texas, take a little extra time, turn off the interstates, and ride these alternate routes.

You Lose!

Scratch the surface of the Texas Lottery and you’ll find political opportunism, a cynical marketing campaign, and endless hype.

One Last Shot

Decades after his family controlled Galveston’s liquor and gambling, 89-year-old Vic Maceo is clinging to his gangster past—and to his pistol.

State Fare: Little Boats de la Noche

For millennia, Mexican people have used corn husks as cooking vessels. Alan Mallett, the executive chef at Houston’s Cafe Noche, has adapted the technique for the restaurant’s signature Little Boats because, he says, the ingredients “steam in their own juices and retain all their flavor and texture.” Three variations on

Holding the Fort

In 1731 the Spanish presidio of Los Adaes became the first capital of Texas. Today no one recognizes the name.

Ad and Subtract

Liquid Light at Barton Springs, 1988

Cola Nuts

Free Weights

A San Antonian is going out of business by giving away the store—literally.

Fire Storm

Fanned by winds, flames ravage West Texas’ mountains.

Water Foul

As the Guadalupe overflows with tourists, locals battle over managing crowds.

Range Writer

For years, no one took cowboy poetry seriously. But Buck Ramsey’s epic verse has taken the genre to new heights.

David Koresh and the Myth of the Alamo

He was no William Barrett Travis, but in many ways, the leader of the Brand Davidians was an archetypal Texan to the end.

Cat Fight

When mountain lions started turning up, the Sierra Club said, “Save them!” Ranchers said, “No way!”

Deconstructing Willie

Carnality, Castration Anxiety, and Jouissance in Willie Nelson’s Taco Bell Commercial.

School’s Out

State Fare: Black-Bottom Pecan Pie

Dallas chef Stephan Pyles redefined Texas cuisine in the eighties, giving a sophisticated treatment to down-home staples and adding the distinctive kick of chiles and Mexican spices. The founder of the dear departed Routh Street Cafe and its more casual offspring, Baby Routh (2708 Routh Street), Pyles shares his pioneering

Wanted! By the FBI

What’s behind the Bureau’s bashing of its director, former San Antonio judge William Sessions? Go ask Alice.

A Farewell to Arm

Even after his baseball career is over, Nolan Ryan will continue to be a role model for my kids—and me.

Cream of the Crops

In these nine Texas towns, produce is more than product. It’s pride.

Act II

After years of being alternately judged a great playwright and a great disappointment, Edward Albee has found his footing in Houston, where he teaches, socializes, and gets star treatment.

Mayan Holiday

In Chiapas—Mexico’s wildest state—you can find cowboys, Indians, and ancient cities in the mist.

Holy Matri-money

Gina with a flip-flop, 1990

Linksmanship

Far away from the crowded urban courses, there’s an older, saner game. Welcome to the pleasures of nine-hole golf and sand greens.

Big Bend Back When

Blues Bayou

At an obscure backwoods honky-tonk, Houstonians get a dose of the blues.

Trial by Video

A Dallas Lawyer juries with cinematic reenactments of accidents.

Land Grab

In a historic move, the state claims co-ownership of some Brazos Valley farms.

See No Evil

Dallas police say Charles Albright is the coldest, most depraved killer of women in the city’s history. To me, he seems like a perfect gentleman. Maybe too perfect.

Buyer, Beware

The Texas real estate market is healthier than it has been in years, but watch out: The patient could suffer a relaps anytime.

Sunrise, Sunset

From 1993, a close look at the virtues of Texas's sunset process.

Court Reporter

Renowned legal scholar and law professor Charles Alan Wright is deadly serious—about murder mysteries.

The Little Engine That Might

From Paris to Dallas, everyone’s asking, Will the bullet train ever get on track?

Beer Brawl

There’s trouble brewing at the Capitol this spring, and it has lobbyists and legislators foaming at the mouth. The issue? Your right to drink a glass of fresh, tasty beer.

Invasion of the Giant Purple Dinosaur

So what if Barney’s New Age niceness annoys some parents? His TV show is a hit with toddlers—and a financial bonanza for the Dallasites who brought him to life.

Goliad’s Ghosts

At Goliad, you can walk among the ghosts of Fannin’s men and the echoes of the rallying cry that history forgot.

Denver or Bust

Roadrunner in Mid-glide, 1991

A Special Issue

Blood Relations

A modern surgeon employs a long-discredited cure-all: medicinal leeches.

Hog Wild

Houston’s young execs take to the streets on a fleet of shiny Harleys.

Art Attack

French Twist

In Texas, singer Calvin Russell can barely fill a club. In France, he’s more popular than Willie—and sells more records.

Power Flower

Mother Nature made it impossible to grow azaleas in Dallas’ alkaline soil—unless you mulch with money.

“Why Us?”

Since AIDS infected their lives, the proud, the deeply religious Allens have been left to ponder the eternal questions of faith and suffering.

Homing Instinct

Did South-western Bell move its main office to San Antonio strictly for business or because its head honcho is a Texan.