Being Texan
May 11, 2022
The Joy and Struggle of Learning Spanish as a Tejano Adult
I used to feel ashamed that I didn't speak Spanish. Now I understand why my parents didn't teach me.
Personal Essay
Being Texan
March 22, 2022
The Boy From Booker T.
A decade after losing one of their own, the former residents of an Austin housing project reckon with their upbringing and the tragedy that changed them.
Being Texan
March 14, 2022
Me and My Truck: A Love Story
For fifteen years, my 2005 GMC Sierra has, through good times and bad weather, taken me to every corner of Texas. It might be time to say goodbye, but it won’t be easy.
Film & TV
January 25, 2022
The Chart-Topping Songs of Disney’s ‘Encanto’ Give Latino Families a Voice
The characters might be fictional, but to the Latinos who see their own families reflected in them, it’s a relief to see them say what we wish we could.
Being Texan
January 11, 2022
How Much Is a Dog’s Life Worth?
A writer learns the hard way—the hardest way—that in Texas the answer is: not much.
Being Texan
December 15, 2021
All I Want for Christmas . . . Is You
When a grown-up son visits for the holiday, a mom takes what she can get.
News & Politics
December 2, 2021
A Texas School District Banned My Book. Then Things Got Really Ugly.
I’ve been the target of censorship and vicious harassment, but my greatest worry is what this trend means for young people who rely on school libraries.
Being Texan
October 15, 2021
This Year’s State Fair Was Overstimulating, Anxiety-Inducing—and Exactly What I Needed
After nearly two years of pandemic life, I didn’t even realize just how much I was craving this release.
Food & Drink
October 8, 2021
The Wild Joy of Foraging My Own Food
I didn’t wake up one day and think, “I’m going to traipse around the woods and eat raw things.” But over time, I learned how to fill my pantry with delicious (and free!) foraged ingredients.
Being Texan
May 17, 2021
What an Obscure Childhood Experience Taught Me About the Nature of Memory
Passing through a desolate stretch of North Texas, I set an anchor in the sea of time.
Music
March 19, 2021
For Decades, Countless Young Latinas Like Me Have Regarded Selena as an Icon. Maybe It’s Time We Took Her off the Pedestal.
If we’re going to honor the real Selena—and find a way to carry her with us—we need to imagine what she might have done if she had lived a full life.
Being Texan
June 30, 2020
To Love Houston Is to Accept That Making Sense of It Is Futile
Just as my husband and I were moving away from the city, we found ourselves embracing our adopted hometown.
Personal Essay
June 28, 2019
Farewell to the “Rambling Boy,” Lonn Taylor
The Fort Davis historian and raconteur knew and loved Texas and its people like no one else.
Critters
March 22, 2019
Life, in Dog Years
My father always pampered his pets. So when he fell ill and moved in with us, it was no surprise that his corgi came to rule our home. What I didn’t expect was for Trilby to care for me after Dad was gone.
Being Texan
April 19, 2017
3,822 Miles
Seeing, and understanding, our land and its borders anew—in a Cessna 182 Skylane.
Travel & Outdoors
September 21, 2016
A Love Unearthed
My grandfather’s work as a paleontologist took him to West Texas over and over again. Fifty years later, I found myself retracing his steps.
Texas History
June 16, 2016
Off Course
I never knew my father, a decorated World War II pilot who died before I was born. But a trek at age 67 to the site where his airplane crashed brought me closer to him than I’d ever dared hope.
The Culture
April 20, 2016
Our Town
How Lubbock’s prairie dogs taught me the meaning of home.
The Culture
October 21, 2015
The Wild Life
A dank cabin and a loyal dog—and, eventually, a loving daughter—turned Texas into home.
Music
June 6, 2014
The Strings of the Father
How Johnny Gimble became one of the greatest fiddlers of all time—and showed me and my son a thing or two about playing music.
Feature
August 31, 2003
The Most Perfect, Charming, Elegant, Graceful, Cozy, Genteel, Affluent 2.2 Square Miles in Texas
After thirty years, I still love Highland Park.
Art
February 1, 2003
An Unmarried Woman
My divorce made me what I am today.
News & Politics
February 1, 2003
Supreme Moment
Thirty years after Roe v. Wade, I'm still that lawyer.
Being Texan
April 1, 1998
Taxi Driver
I was my own boss, set my own hours, and came and went as I pleased. I was a Houston cabbie, and though it was hack work—literally—it paid the bills.
Travel & Outdoors
December 1, 1997
The War on Cedar
It’s unpalatable to cattle, an invader of grasslands, and a water hog. So why can’t I just get rid of it? Because it’s a vegetative Vietnam.
Books
August 31, 1997
My Willie
Willie Nelson and I have been friends for years, so why did I decide only now to make him a character in one of my mystery novels? The plot thickens.
Being Texan
April 1, 1997
Babes in the ’Hoods
Thought the competition between Texas cities was over? Until my daughter was born in Dallas and a friend’s was born in Austin, so did I.
Being Texan
March 1, 1997
Green Eggs and Kao
I thought I’d teach my young son’s Laotian friend about all the essentials of American culture, including Dr. Seuss. I just never imagined how much he’d teach me.
Film & TV
May 31, 1996
Marcia Gay Harden
I REMEMBER ONE SUMMER when there were snakes galore on Lake LBJ near Kingsland. We have five kids in our family, and we’d all go swimming in the lake, but when we’d see something in the water—and couldn’t tell if it was a turtle or a water moccasin—we’d jump out.
Sports
April 30, 1996
Blow by Blow
The art of throwing punches, the science of skipping rope, and other reasons why boxing is a hit with me.
Sports
December 1, 1995
Down and Out
My firsthand experience with the hard times that humbled my hero, former Dallas Cowboys star Golden Richards.
Being Texan
June 1, 1995
Confessions of A Preacher’s Wife
The tensions between the demands of the spirit and the demands of the world defined my marriage—and destroyed it.
Being Texan
January 1, 1995
Closing the Circle J
A final farewell to the Hill Country spread that for more than thirty years meant everything to me and my family.
Health
July 1, 1994
Loved to Death
Married for 32 years, my parents both died of AIDS, and we, their children, may never know why.
Being Texan
January 1, 1994
What I Learned in the Bubble
Until I house-sat there last year, I thought I knew rarefied Highland Park. To my surprise, it was much more fragile and defensive than it had seemed.
Texas History
March 1, 1993
Indian Takers
All across Texas, vandals are searching for ancient treasures by looting Indian campgrounds—including the one on my family’s ranch.
Health
September 30, 1992
Last Rights
My son ended his life after three years of madness and unbearable depression. Who am I to say he did the wrong thing?
Business
May 31, 1992
Ross and Me
If Ross Perot is president, he’ll be judged by how well he plays hardball with Congress. Here’s how he played hardball with me.
Being Texan
March 1, 1992
He Called Me Puddin’
Through sickness and health. Texas humorist John Henry Faulk was my mentor, my idol, my friend.
Being Texan
October 1, 1991
The Eye of the Bull
All I wanted to do was photograph the running of the bulls. I never intended to risk my life.
Style & Design
July 1, 1991
Boots and Me
In Texas, the cowboy boot still makes the man.
Being Texan
June 1, 1991
Voices From the Dark
Before Dawn was caught in the terrifying grip of schizophrenia, she had been a talented jazz singer. Now her son-in-law tells her story of no place to go.
Being Texan
April 1, 1991
The Reluctant Duchess
On the hundredth anniversary of San Antonio’s Fiesta, a duchess from the 1963 court still cringes at her memories of the social whirl.
Film & TV
February 1, 1990
Lost in Space
Locked away in NASA’s storage vaults was some of the most glorious footage ever filmed. I thought turning it into a movie would be a snap. Ten years later I’ve revised my opinion.
Film & TV
December 1, 1989
Liz and Me
Memories of the filming of ‘Giant’ in Marfa, as recalled by a fan who had the best seat in the house.
Being Texan
December 1, 1989
A Fool and His Money
Why we are so soon parted.
Being Texan
August 1, 1989
The Sundown Kids
Once upon a summer, children whiled away their twilight time with outdoor games like Piggy Wants a Whistle, Witch o’ Witch, and Fox Across the River.
Health
January 1, 1989
Dad’s Last Home
It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. Had the time come to put my father in a nursing home?
News & Politics
December 1, 1988
The Line
Visitors to the Harris County Jail resign themselves to the hours they must spend waiting in line to get fifteen precious minutes with an inmate.
Sports
September 1, 1988
Football? What’s the Big Deal?
As much as I hated playing football, I hate watching it more.