Texas History
October 1, 1981
The Failures That Made Texas
When it comes to flops and fiascos, Texans can outdo anyone.
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Business
October 1, 1981
Losing Big
Everybody knows the story about the young Texan who goes into business, works hard, and makes millions. But what happens when his luck runs out?
Sports
October 1, 1981
Throw It to Me!
Drew Pearson, Tony Hill, and Butch Johnson are wide receivers for the Dallas Cowboys—in other words, they’re artists, egomaniacs, fierce competitors, and the heart of the team.
Politics & Policy
September 1, 1981
One Woman’s Tiny Problem Confronts Dallas City Hall
Vesta Cawley turned to the city bureaucracy for help with a problem that didn’t matter to any of the other 900,000 residents of Dallas. But it should have mattered more to city hall.
Sports
September 1, 1981
Carl Lewis and the Exquisite Science of Jumping
All this twenty-year-old University of Houston student wants to do is jump farther and run faster than anyone else ever has.
Being Texan
September 1, 1981
Gone to Texas
Thousands of people from the North, broke and out of work, are streaming into the state. This is the true story of two of them who abandoned Detroit for Houston, learned about cockroaches, tacos, and freeways, and finally discovered happiness in broken air conditioners.
Politics & Policy
August 1, 1981
The Deal That Didn’t Work
Parceling out three new seats in Congress sounds like an easy job, but the Texas Legislature tried for two months and couldn’t do it.
Music
August 1, 1981
Trial by Piano
Why knock yourself out for two grueling weeks at a piano competition in Fort Worth? For $12,000—and a string of concert bookings money can’t buy.
Being Texan
August 1, 1981
Country Boy
Texas cities are full of people who grew up in the country—and want everybody they meet to know it.
Travel & Outdoors
August 1, 1981
The Perfect River
From giant freshwater prawns to bikini-clad coeds, from ancient Indian artifacts to swimming pigs, there’s something for everyone on the San Marcos River.
Being Texan
July 1, 1981
A Simple Man
Archbishop Patrick Flores acts like a country priest, but he has a tough job: he is the most powerful Catholic clergyman in Texas, and perhaps the most powerful Mexican American as well.
Tacos
July 1, 1981
I Remember Masa
The last word on tortillas: how to make them, when to eat them, and why they should be in every artist’s studio.
News & Politics
July 1, 1981
Space Cadet
Astronauts used to be dashing pilots. Now they’re doctors, scientists, and . . . sanitary engineers.
Travel & Outdoors
June 1, 1981
The Coyote Wars
The stake is survival—for either the sheep and goat ranchers of West Texas or the smartest predator of all.
Politics & Policy
June 1, 1981
The Plane the Pentagon Couldn’t Stop
West of Fort Worth, General Dynamics builds the F-16, a good little fighter plane that could have been great if the Air Force brass had kept their hands off it.
Politics & Policy
May 1, 1981
The Subway That Ate Houston
The most expensive, amazing, dynamic, futuristic, and sexy way not to solve a transit crisis.
True Crime
May 1, 1981
The Mistress and the Muscleman
A tale of passion in the double-knit aristocracy.
Politics & Policy
May 1, 1981
The Governor’s New Clothes
Bill Clements, unmasked at last.
Being Texan
April 1, 1981
God’s Angry Man
Evangelist James Robison is using the pulpit, prime time television, and Cullen Davis to try to save the world.
Travel & Outdoors
April 1, 1981
Tenting Tonight
How you can—and why you should—go camping in the middle of the week.
Travel & Outdoors
March 1, 1981
Going Under
For a man and his daughter out for a pleasant day’s fishing, the first sign of danger was a man’s hat floating silently down the stream.
News & Politics
March 1, 1981
Home Sweet Home, Good-bye
And hello to high prices, high interest rates, high rents, and a new low for the American dream.
Music
March 1, 1981
Make Friends With the Quin Tikis
Onstage, all happy lounge acts are alike; offstage, all unhappy lounge acts are unhappy in their own ways.
Travel & Outdoors
March 1, 1981
Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso
What to eat, how to shop, and where to boogie in the most enchanting corner of Texas.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 1981
Speed Demons
State highway patrolmen hate the 55 mph speed limit almost as much as other Texas motorists do, and for better reasons.
News & Politics
February 1, 1981
Crime Without Punishment
Lock your doors. The police have given up trying to catch burglars.
Critters
February 1, 1981
Life Behind Bars
Zoos are fine for people, but they make animals go crackers.
Style & Design
January 1, 1981
Rags to Riches
When buyers and sellers converge on Dallas’s Apparel Mart for a week-long orgy of fashionable commerce, high style and discriminating taste confront the cold reality of the bottom line.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1981
Laying Down the Law
That’s what the Legislature is here to do, and unless we’re lucky, it just may.
Style & Design
December 1, 1980
No Man’s Land
Welcome to Highland Park, a small town right in the middle of Dallas where the living is easy and time stands still.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 1980
Why Is Houston Falling Apart?
Because nobody at city hall is doing his job, that’s why.
Travel & Outdoors
November 1, 1980
Discover Beautiful Beaumont
Okay, we heard that snicker. But give the place a chance. You’ll find plenty to enjoy.
Travel & Outdoors
November 1, 1980
Can the Boy Scouts Save America?
Perhaps. At least they’re on the right track and trying hard.
True Crime
November 1, 1980
Rex Cauble and the Cowboy Mafia
The Denton millionaire hated drugs and liked cops. He also liked Muscles Foster, a footloose cowboy who was one of Texas’ biggest drug runners.
Politics & Policy
October 1, 1980
What Ever Happened to the Storm of the Century?
Hurricane Allen proved that everyone talks about the weather but nobody knows much about it—least of all the National Weather Service.
Politics & Policy
September 1, 1980
The $38,000 a Year, Wife and Two Kids, House and a Pool Blues
Is inflation deflating your standard of living? You are not alone.
Politics & Policy
August 1, 1980
Fire!
What you don’t know about your fire department could burn you up.
Travel & Outdoors
August 1, 1980
The Secret Life of the Beach
Along the silent, lovely beach, tiny armies fight in the tide, fierce battles rage in the sky, and nocturnal marauders slither across the sand.
Sports
August 1, 1980
Ring of Truth
Two brave bulls stood between Paco Olivera and the prize he had worked for all his life.
Best Thing in Texas
July 1, 1980
The Best Strikes Back
Four years ago we brought you the Best of Texas. Now we do it again— only better.
Politics & Policy
July 1, 1980
Why I Turned In Lee Otis Johnson
When black militant Lee Otis Johnson got out of prison his old friends welcomed him with open arms. Later, some of them wished they hadn’t.
Energy
July 1, 1980
Profits? What Profits?
Reading Big Oil’s annual reports for the truth about profits is a little like drilling for oil in the Baltimore Canyon: you know it’s there, but how deep will you have to go to find it?
Business
June 1, 1980
Who Owns Texas?
The biggest landholders in the state, acre by acre.
Travel & Outdoors
June 1, 1980
An Insider’s Guide to San Antonio
There’s more for the traveler in San Antonio than meets the Alamo.
Sports
June 1, 1980
Spit and Polish
If throwing a spitball is an art, Gaylord Perry is Michelangelo.
Being Texan
June 1, 1980
Lawn Boy
Here’s how to achieve inner peace, perfect serenity, spiritual calm, and a nice, neat lawn.
Border & Immigration
May 1, 1980
Town Without Pity
Nuevo Laredo’s Boys’ Town, where lost innocence meets failed dreams.
Travel & Outdoors
May 1, 1980
The Good Life
You can still find it in these great small towns.
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.
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.