The Real Texas Grandma

I was really saddened by the death of Governor Ann Richards. I first met Gov. Ann in about 1981ish at a Democratic Party function at the old Union Station in Dallas. I'll never forget meeting her and shaking her hand as she looked me squarely in the eyes, smiled broadly and said in a Texas drawl so thick you had to cut it with a hack saw, "Eeyt iz soooo niiice to meet yewwww....". I was instantly awestruck. Even then the helmet of white hair was present and she could be seen clearly from across the room.

I had the pleasure of being around her two more times in the next couple of years, both times at the capitol when I was working as a lobbyist in 1983. She always had this wonderful presence.

Bill Clinton was in town today to accompany her casket into the rotunda of the capitol. Clinton called Richards “Texas on parade.” “For 30-plus years, that is certainly what she was to me and Hillary,” he said. “First she was big: big hair, big bright eyes, big blinding smile. She also had a big heart, big dreams, did big deeds.” Indeed. Gov. Ann opened the door to a state government that had, for too long, been the domain of white, straight, male bigots.

I'm gonna go to the memorial on Monday and say goodbye.

Monday, September 18, 2006

I did attend the memorial today at the Erwin Center along with about 4,000 others. Gov. Ann was pretty well liked. The attendees ran the gamut of humanity, black, white, latino, asian, gay, straight, male, female, some seemingly wealthy, some seemingly rather poor. These were the people Ann Richards represented. In other words, everyone.

There was a lot of laughter and a few tears. Sen Hillary Clinton spoke and I must say, having had some feelings of ambivilence about her, she was masterful in this situation. "She went into government because she didn't want her tombstone to read, 'She kept a clean house,' " Clinton said. "Instead, she went into government and cleaned house. Her longstanding advice to young women, Clinton said, is timeless: "Set your own course. Dream your own dreams. Go to places you want to go, even if no one has gone there before. Stand your ground."

I read a story about Gov Ann that Molly Ivins has shared before and it speaks volumes about who Ann Richards was and why I liked her so much. The story, as told by Ivins, goes as follows:

At a long-ago political do at Scholz Garten in Austin, everybody who was anybody was there meetin' and greetin' at a furious pace. A group of us got the tired feet and went to lean our butts against a table at the back wall of the bar. Perched like birds in a row were Bob Bullock, then state comptroller, moi, Charles Miles, the head of Bullock's personnel department, and Ms. Ann Richards. Bullock, 20 years in Texas politics, knew every sorry, no good sumbitch in the entire state. Some old racist judge from East Texas came up to him, 'Bob, my boy, how are you?"
Bullock said, "Judge, I'd like you to meet my friends: This is Molly Ivins with the Texas

Observer."

The judge peered up at me and said, "How yew, little lady?"

Bullock said, "And this is Charles Miles, the head of my personnel department." Miles, who is black, stuck out his hand, and the judge got an expression on his face as though he had just stepped into a fresh cowpie. He reached out and touched Charlie's palm with one finger, while turning eagerly to the pretty, blonde, blue-eyed Ann Richards. "And who is this lovely lady?"

Ann beamed and replied, "I am Mrs. Miles."