The Culture

Texas History|
October 23, 2013

Eileen Mitchell’s Letter to Jackie Kennedy

1:10 pmNov. 22, 1963From a student of North Texas State UniversityThe radio sat in the window of the second floor dorm window blaring out the sad news that our President had been shot! People walking around in twos and threes stopped their happy chattering and stood silently on the street,

Texas History|
October 23, 2013

Henry Gonzales’s Letter to Jackie Kennedy

P.O. Box 9652El Paso, Texas 79986Dec. 8, 1963Mrs. J.F. KennedyWashington, D.C.Dear Mrs. Kennedy:I am but a humble postman and I realize the many letters you have received, which is but deserving to you, throughout this wide world. We at our house have continued to mourn the great loss to all

Texas History|
October 23, 2013

Claudine Skeat’s Letter to Jackie Kennedy

Mrs. John F. KennedyWhite HouseWashington, D.C. Dear Mrs. Kennedy,You and President Kenney were in my office a week ago yesterday.I am secretary to General Bedwell at Brooks Air Force Base, and I will forever be haunted by how handsome and healthy and happy you two looked – and how gracious you

Texas History|
October 23, 2013

Tommy Smith’s Letter to Jackie Kennedy

Dear Mrs. Kennedy:I know the grief you bear. I bear that same grief. I am a Dallasite. I saw you yesterday. I hope to see you again. I saw Mr. Kennedy yesterday. I’ll never see him again. I’m very disturbed because I saw him a mere 2 minutes

Texas History|
October 23, 2013

Marcy Wentworth’s Letter to Jackie Kennedy

5509 Dalwood DriveAustin, Texas 78723November 25, 1963Dear Mrs. Kennedy,There are no words in any language to express truly our grief and the sympathy we wish to extend to you and your family on the death of your husband, the President – our President. We Texans pride ourselves in our state,

The Culture|
October 21, 2013

5 Things You’ll Be Talking About in November

1. NASHVILLE, TEXAS Even if Kacey Musgraves wins none of the six Country Music Association awards she’ll be vying for on November 6, she’ll still be the Nashville story of the year. No female debut artist has ever before topped the CMA nominations list, and Musgraves achieved that honor with

Energy|
October 21, 2013

The Energy Hunter

George Mitchell didn’t set out to launch one of the biggest oil and gas rushes in world history—he just wanted to coax some more gas out of an old well near Fort Worth.

The Culture|
September 17, 2013

5 Things You’ll Be Talking About in October

1. Craig’s ListingIt doesn’t take anything away from Craig Watkins’s accomplishments as district attorney of Dallas County—since he won election in 2006, his office has exonerated 33 prisoners, some of whom had been incarcerated for decades—to say that he has been very lucky. A Democrat, he was swept into office

The Culture|
September 17, 2013

The Big Sleep

How I ended up spending my panel appearance at the Texas Book Festival lying on a bench and drooling on the floor.

Art|
September 13, 2013

Did Playboy Screw Prada?

The dustup around Playboy's controversial art installation outside of Marfa revealed regulations that might require the removal of the famous Prada Marfa sculpture.

The Culture|
September 10, 2013

Book ‘Em, Horns

How the writers behind the always informative, often hilarious blotter of the University of Texas police force are trying to make college students better citizens.

The Texanist|
August 15, 2013

On the Great Outdoors

Q. I am an avid South Texas hunter. A while back, I was en route to Concan and stopped to get gas when I saw a group of grown men shamelessly flaunting their pink camouflage hats and shirts. In almost three decades of hunting I have never seen a pink

The Texanist|
August 15, 2013

On the Home and Lawn

Q: Will hiring a lawn service to do my mowing make me soft?Preston CulbersonNacogdochesSeptember 2009A: Well, boy hidy, Mr. Deep Pockets, seems somebody has suddenly found himself standing in some mighty high cotton. And, at the same time, in some increasingly tall grass. Did your numbers hit? Ol’ Aunt

The Texanist|
August 15, 2013

On Child-Rearing

Q: My twelve-year-old daughter is a complete and unashamed tomboy. She hunts with me, fishes with me, and throws the football with me. Wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress. I love every second of it, but her mother thinks it’s come time for her to drop some of these boyish

The Texanist|
August 14, 2013

On Dipping and Spitting

Q: I work for a technology company in a nice office in Austin—despite what you have heard, we are required to wear shoes. Anyway, I have a co-worker who dips Copenhagen and spits into a Styrofoam cup. Is this acceptable in an office environment? Mike Via e-mailSeptember 2007A: Though

The Texanist|
August 14, 2013

On Romance

Q: How many Gulf oysters does it take for a person to see results from the aphrodisiac qualities that they are said to possess? My wife and I were recently visiting Galveston and shared three dozen to no avail.Name WithheldFebruary 2011A: Ah, the oyster. The most delectable and voluptuous of

The Texanist|
August 14, 2013

On Relieving Oneself

Q: If one makes a genuine effort not to be seen while peeing outdoors, can that still be considered urinating in public?Frank AllenRicardoMarch 2009A: Yes and no. The need to shake the dew off one’s lily away from modern facilities is one of life’s many inevitabilities (and one of its

The Texanist|
August 14, 2013

On Guns and Weaponry

Q: How old need a boy be to receive the gift of a first gun? ChristopherAustinJanuary 2009A: Assuming that we are not speaking of some wild-assed hellion who will bury his relatives in a torrent of tiny steel balls the first time a firearm is laid in his hands, age

The Culture|
August 14, 2013

On Sartorial Matters

Q: I was born and raised in Texas and have resided in New York City for the past couple of years. On a recent trip back home, I visited a friend on his ranch in West Texas and was mocked unmercifully for wearing skinny jeans. I will admit that the jeans

The Culture|
August 12, 2013

6 Things You’ll Be Talking About in September

1. I’m Gonna Git You, SoccerThe intense rivalry between the two North American powerhouses of men’s soccer, the United States and Mexico, will be renewed September 10 in Columbus, Ohio, in a crucial qualifying match for next summer’s World Cup. After years of struggle against its more established opponent, the

The Culture|
August 1, 2013

John Graves: An Appreciation

We first published John Graves in Texas Monthly in 1974. It was a selection from Hardscrabble, his book about his life on the place he and his wife Jane and his daughters Sally and Helen carved out of, and into, the limestone and scrub brush of the Upper Brazos country.That’s

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