Texas Standard » Stories From Texas

Over the past decade I’ve seen more breathtakingly beautiful photographs of Texas than I saw in all the decades before, combined. This is thanks to social media where many photographers share their exquisite work online daily. I’ve made it a point to befriend these great visual artists so I can enjoy Texas in all its […] The post Picturing Texas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The other day I was trying to pull out on U.S. Route 281, and the traffic was so steady that I had to wait about three minutes for an opening. As I was waiting, my father’s voice came into my head and said, “Somebody left the gate open down there.” Dad’s been gone 30 years […] The post Ranch Words In Urban Life appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

At Christmas time each year I like to tell the story about a great gift given to Texas. My favorite Christmas stories of this kind concern seeds planted long ago that are still producing abundant harvests today. You may not know the name D.H. Snyder, but you will certainly recognize his influences on Texas history. […] The post D.H. Snyder – Cattleman And Philanthropist appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

If I could have any wish I would choose to be a time-traveler. Some say time travel will be possible one day, and some say it is the stuff of fairy tales. So, I guess until Elon Musk invents that mythical machine, books will have to do. Books give us the next best thing. They […] The post Time-Traveling With Frederick Law Olmsted appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong La LLorona (the crying woman) is a Mexican legend that is at least 500 years old. It no doubt arrived in Texas with the earliest Mexican settlers and La Llorona has haunted our rivers, lakes and streams ever since, particularly in the border regions. There are dozens of versions. Here is […] The post How Moms Use The Legend Of La Llorona To Keep Their Kids In Line appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The highest natural point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak at 8,751 feet. The tallest building is the JPMorgan Chase Tower at 1,002 feet. But that is not the tallest manmade structure in Texas. In fact, it’s only half as tall as the tallest structure in Texas, the Liberman Broadcast Tower in Era, which is 2,000 […] The post Tower Climbers appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Texas Monthly once described the joke I’m about to tell you as THE TEXAS JOKE because of its staying power over many decades: A married couple from out of state were driving across Texas and saw a sign that said “Mexia 22 miles.” They got into a bit of an argument over how to say […] The post Texans Have A Funny Relationship With The Letter ‘R’ appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

About a month ago, my son went off to college with my Jeep, and I needed to get another vehicle. I had been truckless for a few years – a rare condition in my life – and I decided I wanted to fix that right away. For a long time, I had wanted a King […] The post Out-Texas Me This! appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

They other day I was looking over a list of those who died at the Alamo. The one thing that struck me about the list was that the men who gave their lives there were, collectively, incredibly young. I saw John Wayne’s film, “The Alamo,” when I was a kid and for years I had […] The post Defenders Of The Alamo appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong Tom Hanks in the movie “Cast Away” was stranded all alone on a deserted pacific island. He was the lone survivor of a plane crash. The seriousness of his situation sunk in as he did the math in his head. He explained radial geometry to Wilson (his Volleyball friend) as he […] The post Texas As A Unit Of Measure appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

On these warm summer nights, I see them often as I drive home on FM 803. They sometimes stop, frozen for a few seconds, their eyes reflecting my headlights in an eerie red – and then they dash off into giant clumps of prickly pear, where predators can’t follow. The Spaniards named them armadillos – […] The post The Armadillo’s Texas Roots Reach Back To Ancient Times appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We have had dozens of rags-to-riches stories in Texas. These Horatio Algers had hardscrabble beginnings but built fortunes worth hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars. But unfortunately – at this point, anyway – most of them have been male. So the women who did it were all the more impressive because they had […] The post Pink Cadillacs And Lucky 13: How Mary Kay Ash Built A Billion-Dollar Business appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Like millions of his fans, I was stunned to learn that Anthony Bourdain had left us so soon last week. I was sad because he had such a genius for expressing his brilliance: and, I believe, had so much more to teach. I’ve spent half my life trying to teach students at the university to […] The post What Anthony Bourdain Knew About Mexico appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

A couple of weeks ago I read a book called “The Lion the Living Room,” which was about how our domestic cats are just little lions. I thought, ‘that’s nothing. I grew up with dinosaurs in the alley.’ They looked for all the world like little dinosaurs – at least to us kids they did. […] The post Where Have All The Horny Toads Gone? appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Andy Warhol summed up our modern, technology-driven world: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” But Barbara Jordan turned this idea on its head. In 15 minutes, she delivered a speech that gave her lasting, worldwide fame. She was only 38 when she, on national television, argued for the indictment of Richard […] The post In 15 Minutes, Barbara Jordan Built A Legacy appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

About six months ago, I took a look at songs about Texas towns – “Amarillo by Morning,” “Galveston,” “La Grange,” “Streets of Laredo,” “China Grove,” etc. Now I figure, why not just do Texas? Let’s talk about songs that show their love for Texas in a Texas-sized way – paying homage to the whole state […] The post Ten Songs About Lovin’ The Lone Star State appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The Worst Land Survey in U.S. History By W. F. Strong You can never underestimate the value of a good friendship forged early in life. If not for such a friendship, Texas would be nearly 1,000 square miles smaller. Before I get to the friendship, come with me up to the northwest corner of the […] The post Texas Might Have Been Smaller appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We have many endangered species in the world. Among the better-known at-risk animals are snow leopards, Asian elephants and orangutans. In Texas, we have the gray wolf and ocelot as endangered animals, among others. Endangered reptiles here include the Texas indigo snake and the horned lizard. But that’s not my focus today. That’s just a […] The post Endangered Words appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

One of the most fascinating Texas Rangers of all time was Samuel Hamilton Walker — no relation, we should say right off the bat, to Chuck Norris’ fictional character Cordell Walker. Many Ranger aficionados rate Sam Walker the second-most-important Texas Ranger of all time, behind Jack Coffee Hays, with whom Walker rangered. Now that’s a […] The post Samuel Walker: The Real Walker, Texas Ranger appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

When I was fifteen, weighed down by concerns about high school – algebra tests, term papers, girls – there was no better spot in the world to silence the mind than on top of a 35 foot windmill at my uncle’s farm. In the spring, it was heaven up there on that platform. To the […] The post Windmills: A Memory of Spring appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.