[AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.

[Gerry]

Thanks Font,
You know we only meet so many real heavies in a lifetime. Ann was one of
those in mine.

Tip of the week (on Rhapsody):
Marisa Monte, Universo ao meu rador

Old sambas, strictly acoustic, fetchingly honest.
G


----- Original Message -----
From: "Fontaine Maverick" <fmaverick at austin.rr.com>
To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 8:47 PM
Subject: Re: [AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.


> What a wonderful reminiscence, Gerry. Thanks. I have been struck on this
sad
> day with how many funny stories and one-liner quotes that have been
> attributed to Ann. She was one of those people you always wanted to sit at
> the table with in a bar, or to hang around a campfire or the swimming pool
> with, because she could be counted on to make you laugh out loud. (I've
also
> seen her "tear a new one" once or twice - but that's another story)
>
> John Kelso's column today is no exception, and it is sweet and doesn't
sound
> like something from the statesman archives.
>
> COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
> Ann Richards: Big hair, big heart, big sense of humor
> Friday, September 15, 2006
> I liked Ann Richards because she didn't suffer fools gladly. At least not
> this one.
>
> The last time I talked to Richards, I was working on a fluff piece about
> George W. Bush for a British travel magazine. The article would include a
> mention of a University of Texas football nut who could play the "Aggie
War
> Hymn" under his armpit. Realizing the piece needed an injection of class,
I
> decided to call Richards for a quote about Bush, who had just been elected
> president for the first time.
>
> Miz Richards, would you like to say something for my story about George W.
> Bush? I asked when I reached her in her office. "If I had to talk to every
> Tom, Dick and Harry who wanted to make a buck writin' about George W.
Bush,"
> Richards snapped, "I wouldn't have time to . . . "
>
> I peeled myself off the floor. Then I laughed.
>
> Richards was the last governor of Texas who I really think cared about the
> little people. When she was governor, I never got the feeling gas prices
> were going down because an election was coming soon. These days, I'm never
> sure. Besides, Richards had a great sense of humor, often at her own
> expense. She was the only Texas woman I ever met who wouldn't care if you
> told big hair jokes about her because she knew she could eat your lunch in
a
> smart-ass contest. When I first moved to Austin in the '70s, around
> Christmastime you could tell where in the newsroom Travis County
> Commissioner Ann Richards' annual funny Christmas card had landed.
>
> It was on the desk where laughter had broken out.
>
> The card would always show Richards and her Dallas friend Betty McKool
> dressed up in outrageous costumes, up to and including a KKK hat.
>
> There was one card in which Richards was Dolly Parton and McKool was
Wonder
> Woman. "I remember the photo shoot, and it was pretty wild," said
Richards'
> longtime friend Cathy Bonner, director of the Texas Department of Commerce
> when Richards was governor. "She was a pistol."
>
> Then there was the afternoon in the late '70s when Richards made a speech
to
> honor a Sixth Street beer joint while standing in the back of a pickup.
The
> occasion? Don Politico's Tavern wanted to tell the world that women
finally
> were welcome inside. Previously, the place had been called Benny's, the
last
> men-only beer joint on Sixth Street.
>
> So when new owners Patrick Conway and Jim Walls took the place over as Don
> Politico's, they decided to get Richards to make the announcement that the
> gals could come in. I was there for Richards' speech. Come to think of it,
> if the sun rose that day, I was at Don Politico's. Either way, Richards'
> speech was laced with gusto and raunchy humor. Even if I could remember
it,
> I still couldn't run it in a family newspaper.
>
> Yes, there was a time when this was not George W. Bush's Texas, and it
> belonged fleetingly to Ann Richards. In the '90s, when she was elected
> governor, I marched up Congress Avenue to watch the crowd, filled with
women
> and members of minority groups who felt empowered by Richards' rise to the
> throne. There was a feeling in the air that the average Joe, and the
average
> Joella, finally ruled the day.
>
> My, how times have changed. But it'll all swing back around. Hey, it
always
> does. And when it does, Ann Richards will be looking down from heaven,
> cussing somebody out or patting them on the back, depending on their
> particular needs at the time.
>
> So goodbye, Ann, and if St. Peter isn't lookin' after the common folk
> properly up there, give him a piece of your mind.
>
> John Kelso's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him
at
> 445-3606 or jkelso at statesman.com.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>
> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"
> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 10:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.
>
>
> > The last time I saw her was in early 1996. I was spending a few months
in
> > Austin and the 1st Friday parties were then held at the apartment of a
> > couple whose names I don't recall. The complex was near 12th and Baylor.
> > Ann
> > lived in the same complex and I ran into her, quite by accident, in the
> > elevator. She smiled but was shy and somewhat embarrassed. I asked her
if
> > she was coming to the party. "No," she said, "Can't do that anymore."
> > "Well,
> > good to see you again," I said, and that was that.
> >
> > Molly was the big draw at these parties and late at night after most had
> > left a few of us would sit on the balcony which overlooked the state
> > capitol
> > and reminisce. I had been out of town during Ann's reign and had no idea
> > of
> > how the social order had realigned. Dave Richards and I were still
friends
> > and he was in Santa Fe where he had lived "in exile" while she was
> > governor.
> > I was surprised that no one wanted to talk about Ann at the late night
> > sessions. So I remained in the dark and remain so to this day as to what
> > her
> > life was life after Dave. Never knew Governor Richards. One night
someone
> > suggested that we call her and ask her to join us, but no one would.
> >
> > I first met them when Eddie Wilson and I went to their house in Westlake
> > Hills one afternoon. It was a beautiful house and they were beautiful
> > people, so smart and well informed and outgoing and stylish. Dave came
> > home
> > from work, undressed, put on his swim suit and dove into the pool where
he
> > swam laps for a half hour or so. Then he joined us and we drank, they
had
> > martinis, lots of them. Boy, they could put them away.
> >
> > And later at the Raw Deal (before it was "Fletcher's bar") we drank more
> > and
> > got to know one another better. I was surprised to learn that they were
> > from
> > Waco and that we knew a lot of the same people, and that (like me) they
> > had
> > fled to Dallas for a few years before discovering Austin and settling.
> > (They
> > were 4 years older than me and had finished high school before I got
> > there.)
> > We had lots of good times. They were my tutors, especially Dave who sat
at
> > my side during negotiations with the Austin Symphony (my first union
gig),
> > got me into the labor circle, and generally gave me good advice which I
> > heeded as the gospel truth. You could say that I idolized them.
> >
> > Sometimes I wondered about the public drunkenness of those days. We all
> > got
> > thoroughly stoned for all to see. Shrike and the Richards could really
put
> > away the martinis which put them into another league as drinkers. I was
a
> > beer drinker. Somehow we all managed to get home safely night after
night,
> > a
> > minor miracle...no scandals.
> >
> > I had left Austin to work for the union in the Southeast at the time
they
> > divorced. When I heard about it I was more than shocked, I was floored.
I
> > think it was Eddie who told me. My buddies Lopez and Rosebud were as
> > clueless as me. Dave got together with Sandy and they continued to be
part
> > of the circle. Ann was never around after the divorce. She had become
the
> > State Treasurer, dried out and ran with another group of people. I
missed
> > her and her contributions to our gang and her incredible humor and in
your
> > face honesty. Needless to say I loved her a lot.
> >
> > The radical Texans of our age were focused on the race issues. That (a
> > determination to end segregation in Texas) is what brought us together.
> > That
> > is what separated us from the throng. We were fed up with the old south
> > and
> > determined to change it, even if it meant bucking the system and being
> > called lots of bad names, even if it meant an occasional night in jail.
> > When
> > Viet Nam came along our ranks were swelled with the peace people and we
> > lined up with them too but at heart it was still the race fight that
kept
> > us
> > together. No single individual of any color did more to end racism in
> > Texas
> > than Ann Richards. She was the heavyweight champ.
> > G
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>
> > To: <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
> > Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:27 AM
> > Subject: [AGL] Ann Richards, R.I.P.
> >
> >
> >> It is sad to learn that Ann Richards has died. Many of us knew her and
> >> partied with her, at Fletcher's bar, at the Whittens' First Friday
> >> parties
> >> and elsewhere.
> >>
> >> She died of esophageal cancer the same that killed Sandy Lockett.
> >>
> >> She was 73.
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>