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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.

The Vaquero’s Gun

Vouch Safe

At Galveston’s Mardi Gras Parade

Big Bend Made Easy

It may be more than 800,000 acres, but you can easily cut Big Bend down to size. Here’s how.

Sam the Man

His wives! His lives! A bountiful birthday guide to Sam Houston, Texas’ ultimate hero.

Tom Who?

Jimmy Johnson said he’d see us in the Super Bowl, and he was right. Now he is a hero, and his critics are eating crow.

Indian Takers

All across Texas, vandals are searching for ancient treasures by looting Indian campgrounds—including the one on my family’s ranch.

About Face

He waffled about the Senate seat, then sought safe harbor in Bill Clinton’s cabinet. Why did Henry Cisneros choose HUD over headlines? Only he knows for sure.

Hair Piece

No Airhead

NASA scientists ignored amateur Forrest Mims—until he proved them wrong.

Novel Twist

A big new Dallas bookstore with amenities is a hit with the reading public.

Race Wrangling

Will public housing in East Texas be integrated? Not if the Klan has its way.

Naked Truth

Twice a week I strip for strange men in a topless bar. I worry about just two things: weirdos and what my mother thinks.

Running Rabid

Five years ago, rabies was rare in South Texas. Now nearly three hundred animals have died and the epidemic is not abating.

Low Steaks

How a cut of meat from the wrong side of the street rose to culinary stardom, plus a guide to Texas’ most authentic fajitas.

Worn Free

Top-flight wear (from hat to shoes) for rugged adventures on the Texas terrain.

Pooped Parties

Some Things Never Change: Seeing Green

Long before environmentalism was in vogue, attorney Ned Fritz was fighting to keep Texas pristine.

Focus: Roe Redux

A look back at Roe v. Wade on its twentieth anniversary—and at the key players in Texas who made it happen.

On Assignment: Welfare Foul

A few weeks with the Polk family showed me how the welfare system made things better—and worse.

Scrapbook

Profligate prisons, prime Padre, proud photographs, controversial choice, and halfway health care.

Profile: Voice of Reason

The mission of Houston minister Bill Lawson extends far beyond his church—and isn’t just about race.