Dwayne is standing at the back of the room. His sport coat is too narrow in the shoulders, and his tie is askew.   Standing next to him is Marlene Preen, President of the McLennan County Republican Club.  She wrings her hands and scans the crowd for signs of trouble.   “I’m worried he’s going… Read More

They’ve been putting out yard signs for more than 12 hours, and it’s just after midnight on a Thursday. Bud’s driving, and Kerry is curled up in the passenger seat, trying to sleep.   “He’s the one, right?” Bud asks again.   Kerry moans plaintively. She tries to turn farther away from Bud, but her… Read More

“She was driving and I was in the passenger seat, because the older we got, the clearer it was to both of us that she was the better navigator. She was probably a better driver, although I never conceded that point. We didn’t even talk about who was going to get behind the wheel that… Read More

“I don’t care if you’re black, white, brown, or yellow. I don’t care if you’re homosexual, heterosexual, or asexual. I don’t care if your family has been in the United States for generations, or if you just got off a boat from the far-east yesterday. If you wanna work hard, and you wanna make some… Read More

The old ranch truck slides to a stop at the crossing of FM 669, and a cloud of dust washes over the truck. The passenger door creaks loudly as James Carlos Cates steps out to unchain the gate.   Britt Huff drives the truck across 669 while Cates closes and rechains the gate. Then Cates… Read More

Carol King can see the protestors gathered outside the Speaker’s offices at the western end of the Capitol from her 15th floor office at 825 Congress Avenue.  She knows who sent them.   She cannot read the protestors’ signs, but she doesn’t need to. She is sure that some of them include disparaging shots at… Read More