Email Author Wendy Grossman

2000 Stories by Wendy Grossman

• Pain and Progress

  published December 28, 2000

  An investigator from the district attorney's office called Tracey Deel's father in October. He said that four guys had thrown a blanket over Kevin... More >>

• Prisoners of Love

  published December 28, 2000

  Lynette Barnett is back in prison. But instead of being a guard, now she's an inmate. Working at Crossroads Correctional Institute in Cameron,... More >>

• On the Rocks

  published December 21, 2000

  Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul. Until a mean little guy locked him in the greenhouse and he melted into mush. There was nothing left... More >>

• The Big Score

  published December 14, 2000

  The sidewalk was too rough, so Steve Biegel pushed his daughter's stroller in the street. It was the Sunday before Halloween; Steve and his wife,... More >>

• Strangers in the Night

  published November 23, 2000

  "Baby Got Back" blared from the speakers at the Hard Rock Café last Thursday night. A line of people who spent way too much time on their... More >>

• Altar Ego

  published November 16, 2000

  Azita Bayat and David Sims spent one Saturday afternoon in September staring at diamonds. They scoured the Galleria looking in the windows of... More >>

• She Doth Protest Too Much?

  published November 9, 2000

  It was the last day of school in May, and third-grade teacher Gloria Rubac just wanted to go home, drink a margarita and crash. But Gary Graham... More >>

• Death of a Family

  published October 19, 2000

  The commode didn't work, so Lee Brewer moved in with her twin sister while her husband finished remodeling the bathroom. After he installed a new... More >>

• Learning Curve

  published October 5, 2000

  Kids caught the last of the summer sun while teachers returned to school. The two weeks before students swarm in and school starts is usually a... More >>

• No Sissies Allowed

  published September 28, 2000

  His long-sleeved black jersey is soaked in sweat as Haywood Jeffires stands on the Pearland Patriots' football field. Retired four years now, he... More >>

• Live Free and Die

  published August 31, 2000

  The Rockets were creaming the Denver Nuggets. At halftime Dave Pickrell walked into the hall and lit up a cigarette; five men joined him. It was... More >>

• Left For Dead

  published August 3, 2000

  It was Saturday night, and 17-year-old Kevin Rivas and his best friend, Robert Hidalgo, were cruising southeast Houston. It was the weekend after... More >>

• Andy, Opie and the Almighty

  published August 3, 2000

  A sign saying "Lemonade 5 cents" hangs over the door. An American flag is on the far wall, and a drab Persian rug lies on the floor. The right... More >>

• Midnight Fire

  published July 13, 2000

  Garrett Samples read all three Harry Potter books in one night. And on last Friday evening, the 13-year-old gets primed to pull another... More >>

• Riding to Win

  published June 22, 2000

  A sudden rainstorm washed away the trail. The ribbons marking the path were pounded into the ground as Darolyn Butler-Dial rode out of the woods... More >>

• Keeping the Faith

  published June 8, 2000

  Every Sunday morning Frank Minton saves people. He immerses sinners in holy water and helps them take Jesus into their hearts. But of the hundreds... More >>

• Skirting the Issues

  published May 18, 2000

  Amy Knight didn't want to wear satin or sequins to her Northbrook High senior prom. She wanted to step back into Scottish history and create a... More >>

• May Day

  published May 11, 2000

  It was a typical Sunday-morning service at the Unitarian Universalist church on Wirt Road. Six people stood up and shared their joys and concerns ... More >>

• Bullets After Brunch

  published May 4, 2000

  The headlights flashing in Marc Kajs's rearview mirror were familiar. The light blue Honda Prelude had been following him for 20 miles that day.... More >>

• Making (Up) the Grade

  published April 6, 2000

  Two educational gurus visited Houston last spring to evaluate HISD's privately contracted alternative schools, operated by Community Education... More >>

• Traditional and Trite

  published March 30, 2000

  Screw the traditional peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Popcorn's the scent pumped into the streets surrounding Enron Field. (We think this pollution is... More >>

• Run to Ground

  published March 9, 2000

  Lynette Barnett swiped her ID card at the security gate. Then she swiped it again for the man four feet behind her.... More >>

• Lights Out

  published March 2, 2000

  Sipping a glass of cabernet, Donald Burger sits on the back porch of his Queen Anne-styled house in the Heights. On hot summer nights the personal... More >>

• Drowning on Dry Land

  published February 3, 2000

  Alex coughed all night. It wasn't a loud cough, but a dry, consistent one coming every few minutes. Darleen Scope knows that cough; she knows it... More >>

• Real Life

  published January 13, 2000

  My brother Joel said I was crazy. Booking a flight New Year's Day was, to him, yet another piece of evidence to prove I was switched at birth.... More >>