August 1986 Issue
Features
The Soul of a Huge Machine
The nuts and bolts of a Suburban are more complicated than you might think.

Mack Wallace, Railroad Commissioner, Wants to Save the World
Tapped by destiny, one man in Austin is forging an unlikely alliance between Texas oilmen and the friends of Israel.


Free Enterprise U.
Let’s hear it for Dallas’ Northwood Institute, where entrepreneurialism is second only to high society fundraising.

The Madman on the Tower
In a ninety-minute reign of terror, gunshots rang out that still echo in the history of Texas.
Texas Primer: Big Red
Its passionately loyal following may make this drink the last Texan soda pop on the planet.

Western Art
This story is from Texas Monthly’s archives. We have left the text as it was originally published to maintain a clear historical record. Read more here about our archive digitization project. From 1983 to 1986, Texas Monthly’s regular feature, “Western Art,” highlighted artists’ takes on the classic
Columns
The Blood-red Maya
At the heart of this ancient culture were cruelty, self-mutilation, and ghostly visions.
Texas, In Short
The characters in Prize Stories and South by Southwest often dwell on the past while living out their lives in an anxious present.
Dagwood As D.A.
Legal Eagles is guilty of being humdrum and hokey; Mona Lisa has some fine, gracing touches; Vagabond finds purity within the dirtiest packaging.
Deep Ellum’s Summer of Love
Dallas’ new late-night club scene is daring and diverse, a showcase for pioneering bands.
Waco’s Secrets Revealed
Cradled on the Brazos, this central Texas town yields its pleasures ever so grudgingly.
Reporter
Texas Monthly Reporter
Life after TECAT in North Forest; Joe Rinelli gives his beauties a shot at the crow; Kerrville residents have a winter’s worth of tall tales.
Web

On the Menu: West Lynn Cafe
The West Lynn Cafe is closed. The vegetarian Cosmic Cafe opened at this location in July 2005.
Miscellany
Post-Modern Times
UT is testing this device that works like a BB gun, only it’s a little more powerful—it’ll be able to shatter a Soviet warhead speeding through space.
Shopping
Elliott’s is the Louvre of hardware stores—it’s got flyshooters, fan blades, and three aisles of screws. In other words, it’s heaven.
State Secrets
A cap for San Antonio that wouldn’t look good on Henry Cisneros; long-term pessimism hits the oil market; Texas cities finagle their way around the tax reform.
The Quidnunc
Desperately seeking the Cadillac Couch; reading Carolyn Farb’s mail; cowboy cologne strikes again.