Politics & Policy
April 1, 1980
The Tragedy of Bob Bullock
Bob Bullock, in his flamboyant style, built a powerful state agency. Then Bob Bullock, in his flamboyant style, was seduced by its power.
Features
Health
April 1, 1980
Little Boy Lost
Being autistic nearly ruined Michael Shipley’s life, but his parents sent him to a state mental hospital. Then Michael’s life was ruined for good.
Art
April 1, 1980
Would You Pay $2.5 Million for That Painting?
‘The Icebergs’ is the most expensive American painting in history, but it is also the center of an art-world mystery with a trail leading from an English boys’ school to a Dallas millionaire.
Sports
March 1, 1980
Termite Watkins and the Fatal Pancakes
In a big fight you can outwit, outhit, or outlast your opponent. But you’d better not try to outeat him.
Business
March 1, 1980
Hustlers and Fortune Hunters Beware!
When the cable TV salesman comes calling, you should fully expect your city council to sell you down the river. Not that they mean to do it. It’s simply that history shows most city councils don’t know the first thing about cable. People who can barely figure out the briefs
News & Politics
March 1, 1980
The Law West of the Trinity
Justices of the peace, maligned since the days of Roy Bean, don’t operate like other judges. But if lawyers want to get ride of them, they can’t be all bad.
Critters
March 1, 1980
Horse Power
Horses are expensive, finicky, and a pain to groom. They are also irresistible.
Business
March 1, 1980
Invasion of the Cable Snatchers
In Texas the best way to get rich in cable television is to know just a little about TV and everything about politics.
Music
February 1, 1980
Rock ’N’ Roll’s Wizard of Oz
How Gordon McLendon stormed Texas with Top 40 . . . da doo ron ron.
Travel & Outdoors
February 1, 1980
Down in the Depths
The intricate underwater passages and pristine water of Jacob’s Well fascinate divers. Too often, the fascination proves fatal.
The Culture
February 1, 1980
True Love
Actual photos! In living color! Incontrovertible evidence that kissing is fun!
Film & TV
February 1, 1980
I Found Romance at the Bijou Theatre
We don’t know how you learned about the birds and the bees, but we’ll bet you learned about love the same way we did: from the movies.
Health
February 1, 1980
The Crack-Up
You learn one clear and not so very grim lesson by looking death in the face.
Health
January 1, 1980
Life Got You Down? Getting Nowhere? Wishing for Wealth? For Success? For Happiness?
My friend, you have come to the right place.
Food & Drink
January 1, 1980
The Vanishing Steak
Beefing and chewing the fat about a rare pleasure that’s almost done for.
Being Texan
January 1, 1980
Elegant Fossils
Once Texas was a land of fabulous, ornate county courthouses. It still is, but today they’re flamboyant relics in our streamlined urban landscapes.
Health
January 1, 1980
The Baby Factory
At Houston’s Jefferson Davis Hospital, the wonders of modern medicine collide with the raw realities of birth, poverty, neglect and hope.
Sports
December 25, 1979
The Real Mean Green
Talk to coaches and team owners about AstroTurf and you’ll hear all its advantages. Talk to the players and you’ll hear a different story.
Being Texan
December 1, 1979
My Life and Hard Times in the Junior League
“In the League, you’ll run into a little tradition, some noblesse oblige, and a lot of talk about diets, dyslexia, designer dresses, and divorce.”
Health
December 1, 1979
Smokers Are People Too
You can always spot a smoker. He fiddles with matches, his shirt pocket bulges in a tiny rectangle, and fumes emerge from his mouth and nose. But what should we do about him?
Business
December 1, 1979
Picking Up the Pieces
You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Ask your garbageman.
Travel & Outdoors
December 1, 1979
The Best Little Hotels in Mexico
We’ve found them: nine of Mexico’s best colonial inns and lodges. All you have to do is make reservations.
Style & Design
November 1, 1979
Grand Indulgences
Whether you have $2 to spend or $25,000, our Christmas gift selections show how to have a wonderfully indulgent holiday.
Sports
November 1, 1979
Trial by Water
Marathon canoe racing is the toughest sport in Texas. It’s tougher than bull riding, more grueling than pro football. The canoeists say that’s why it’s fun.
Travel & Outdoors
November 1, 1979
Funky Hotels
Why subject yourself to the dreariness of impersonal, prefab hotels when these country hostelries are just down the road?
Business
October 1, 1979
Talking Money/The Heavy Hitters
What’s what and who’s who in Texas real estate.
Being Texan
October 1, 1979
A Delicate Balance
Who turned off the melting pot? Vietnamese and Texans fight on the coast.
Food & Drink
September 30, 1979
Cutups
Can’t hull a strawberry? Can’t boil an egg? Can’t wash leafy vegetables? Relax. Help is on the way.
Feature
September 30, 1979
Ghosts
World War II may be over, but the Confederate Air Force will rise again.
Food & Drink
September 1, 1979
Honey, You’re Still Driving Me Crazy
Wise up: that insipid supermarket sugar-water you’ve been putting on your toast isn’t honey. The real stuff—Texas honey—is as full-bodied and distinctive as the nectars that go into it.
Business
September 1, 1979
Easy Money
Faster than a speeding Master Charge, funkier than a garage sale, able to leap bad credit ratings at a single bound. Look, up at the sign! It’s a bank! It’s a store! It’s—Super Pawn!
Border & Immigration
September 1, 1979
The Promised Land
Work is tarring rooftops in the scorching Texas heat, home is a falling-down shanty visited by rats and roaches, supper is boiled potatoes and tortillas. It's the good life for two illegal Mexican immigrants trying to make it in America.
Politics & Policy
August 1, 1979
Say, Have You Heard the One About Cactus Pryor?
Don’t look now, but the rather odd gentleman with the suspicious accent and outlandish military getup may not be exactly what he seems.
Energy
August 1, 1979
Ten Giant Steps to Disaster
How did we get into this sorry energy mess? By making sorry decisions.
Energy
August 1, 1979
I Solve the Energy Crisis
Or, how we can all stop worrying and learn to love the crunch.
Feature
July 31, 1979
Smiling Through it All
When gasoline is scarce, it’s not the end of the world.
Feature
July 31, 1979
Ask Jett Rink
Straight talk about gasoline supplies, prices, and profits from Texas’ most famous wildcatter.
Feature
July 31, 1979
Who to Pin It On
If you’re sitting in a gas line and wondering who to blame for all this, here are some candidates.
News & Politics
July 31, 1979
The Throwdown
Houston police said they shot Randy Webster because he pointed a gun at them. Randy’s father set out to prove they were lying.
Food & Drink
July 1, 1979
Counter Culture
Strawberry sodas, vanilla Cokes, grilled cheese sandwiches. That’s what we love about soda fountains.
Food & Drink
July 1, 1979
To Each His Own
Famous people, obscure people, fat people, skinny people all have to eat. That’s what we love about people.
Food & Drink
July 1, 1979
All God’s Chitlins
Simmering pots of soul food. That’s what we love about the South.
Business
July 1, 1979
Speed Freak
Fast food is tasteless and vulgar. There are other good things about it, too.
Food & Drink
July 1, 1979
Conspicuous Consumption
China, crystal, waiters in tuxedos. That’s what we love about Tony’s.
Feature
June 30, 1979
“Hi, Mabel. Give Me the Usual.”
Friendly faces in friendly places. That’s what we love about our old favorites.
Best and Worst Legislators
June 30, 1979
1979: The Ten Best and The Ten Worst Legislators
We just rate them. You voted for them.
News & Politics
June 30, 1979
Moon Struck
Ten years ago the Apollo astronauts, technicians and scientists all, landed on the Moon and touched what poets only dreamed. But that touch changed their lives.
Politics & Policy
June 1, 1979
Chinks in the Armor
If the Soviet Union and the United States fought a nuclear war, no one would win. But who would win a conventional war?
Politics & Policy
June 1, 1979
Hell on Wheels
Soldiers at Fort Hood agree on one thing: You don’t have to be crazy to be in the Tank Corps—but it helps.
Art
June 1, 1979
Clowning Around
Our photographer runs away to the circus.