2010: Saving Bill White's Soul

Yesterday Texas Monthly posted an interview with Rick Perry in which the governor talks to Jake Silverstein about his West Texas childhood — part of a special issue of the magazine themed "Where's I'm From." Today it's his Democratic challenger's turn to wax nostalgic. Bill White tells Mimi Swartz what it was like to be a kid coming of age in San Antonio. "There was a lot of church growing up," the former Houston mayor says:

My mom’s family was fundamentalist Baptist, and my father came from a Methodist family. In fact, when my dad came back from the war, he was recovering from a disability when he met her at Hot Wells Baptist Church. My maternal grandmother insisted that my brother and I be baptized in the Baptist tradition as well as the Methodist tradition so that we wouldn’t lose our souls.

The "Where I'm From" issue of Texas Monthly, featuring similar reminiscences from politicians, musicians, CEOs, etc., is about to be on newsstands