January 1992 Issue
Features
Can Berney Seal Save Corpus Christi?
A critical appraisal of a local phenomenon by the ultimate insider.
Beware the Grace of God
Troubled boys at this Baptist youth home had to eat soap if they said the wrong thing. And that was one of the milder punishments.
The Rise and Fall (and Rise and Fall) of Marcy Rogers
When her charitable foundation collapsed amid allegations of mismanagement, the Dallas socialite did the unthinkable: She started a new one.
Words of Art
From Good Bull: More Aggie Escapades, by John Hoyle:One of the no-no’s in the Corps is to have a member of the opposite sex in your dorm room at the wrong hours. One night, a group of Fish saw a senior sneaking a young woman into his room. The freshmen,
Buyer Beware
Chicken Ranch brother souvenirs, including 1992 calendars with photos of prostitutes in Old West costumes, available for $14.95 from CRI Marketing in Los Angeles.UT Texas Longhorns cologne, based on Texas cedarwood oil, sold for $24 (1.7 ounces) by Texarome of Leakey.Savings and loan scandal trading cards, featuring Neil Bush of
It’s Over!
Rod Canion Houston-based Compaq Computer Corporation, which he co-founded, fired him as presidentDallas CBS canceled the series after a thirteen-year run that featured the mythic evil of J. R. Ewing.Gib Lewis The five-term Speaker of the House was indicted on misdemeanor ethics charges.Danny Faulkner The developer in the Interstate 30
1992 Bum Steers Awards
Where is Alfred Hitchcock When You Need Him?The Texas Department of Agriculture fined a crop duster in Wilbarger County $1,250 for spraying pesticide on a family of four in a pickup truck.Drive Friendly—I’m Uninsured.To avoid Texas insurance and safety standards, at least two thousand drivers from El Paso illegally purchased
Dog Ghosts and Bottle Trees
A new collection of Keith Carter’s photographs captures the magical mojo of East Texas.
Miscellany
Texan at the Core
As fans of the CBS Evening News and Dan Rather, we believe that Robert Draper’s “Dan Rather Is a Good Ol’ Boy” [TM, November 1991] is a fair and unbiased account. It is a mystery to us that Mr. Rather provokes such controversy. He seems to make
Reporter
A Man’s Man
If the National Coalition of Free Men has its way, man-bashing won’t go unprotested.
All’s Well?
Candelaria’s only well supplied free water to all until the EPA weighed in.
Straight Shooter
Gary Bledsoe, the new head of the Texas NAACP, doesn’t dodge the tough questions.
Columns
Doing the Hustle
Today, TGI Friday’s is sedate, but twenty years ago this month, the place started the singles era in Dallas.
A Principal’s World
Conventional wisdom about education holds that local control, a strong principal, and active, involved parents are crucial ingredients in the mix that makes a successful school. This wisdom is so pervasive that the Legislature has made local control, in the form of “site-based decision making,” a legal requirement in Texas
Child’s Play
“Just how hard can it be to build a playground?” I asked. The answer: Harder than anything I’ve ever tried before.
Poetic Justice
A Dallas lawyer is urging his colleagues to put rhyme and reason back into legal writing—by using plain old English.
Web
Phoebe’s Chicken Climax
2 chicken breasts1 egg1 glop of milkSalt and pepper1/2 cup flourCornflakesOlive oil3 tablespoons butterCheap white wineOreganoSweet basil1 can cream of mushroom soupPaper sack (for shaking up chicken)1 stool (for seeing over the stove)Kill one chicken and rip out its breast. Beat one egg lightly with a glop of milk. Add