1933-2006
You will be missed
There are many adjectives used to describe Ann Richards: tough, brassy, sassy, silver-tongued.
But I think one word pretty much sums her up: classy.
It's hard for me to express my feelings about Ann Richards because I considered her a part of my family. No, I never really knew her, nor did I ever meet her. But I did grow up in Texas, where she served as governor for four years during my youth.
I always thought of Ann as a grandmother figure. Having lost both of my own grandmothers at a young age, I remember watching Ann on television and thinking what a great grandma she must be.
She was full of fire and spirit, unafraid of what people thought. I'll never forget her famous line at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, where she stuck it to George Bush Sr. with the comment: "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
So true.
Although that statement thrust Ann into the national spotlight, it was her wit, charm and caring nature that made her famous to Texans during the mid-1990s. She championed women's rights and appointed more women to state offices in Texas than any previous governor.
She also had fun doing it.
There's a famous photograph, shown above, of Ann on a Harley Davidson with a look of unabashed, unapologetic glee on her face. That's someone who knows how to have fun, which is rare in politics these days — it's what made her so great, though.
I'll bet late at night, in the capitol corridors in Austin, you can hear those Harley pipes revving and tires screeching. In my mind, she's somewhere in Austin tonight, cruising the streets on her shiny chrome Hog.
What a lady.
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