Innermost Thought

Governor Ann Richards died last night at home with her family around her. I didn't know Ann Richards that well personally. I only met her in person while producing and hosting her book launch in NYC in 2003. What I did know of her was a fierce, vibrant woman full of strength, wit, and shrewdness. She faced a really aggressive cancer and I believe she would much rather go out swinging than slowly detoriating in pain and suffering. I choose to believe she wasn't suffering and was as vibrant on her deathbed as she was when I introduced her to the crowd of well wishers at our party. Perhaps I am being foolish or fanciful but that is what I choose to believe.

I'm not sad for Ann. Much in the way I wasn't sad for my Grandma Lucio when she died so many years ago. Death in these cases is like going through a door that none of your friends can go through with you. It's akin in my mind to taking a flight to space on one of those coveted tourist positions that only a handful can afford. A great adventure and, once there, you will finally know the secret of what's next. You can't tell anybody but you know you are going to have a great adventure.

I'm sad for myself, Ann's family and friends, my state, and my country. I feel her loss. Though she was no longer in politics, she was such a force that just having her in the world was a monument to what a pollitician could and should be. She had a way of getting to the point of the matter with humor and wit and in such a way that left no room argument. In looking back at some of her quotes and just remembering the brief speech she gave at our party for her it makes me ache for that kind of intelligence and wit in politics today. Her successor in Texas government's futile attempts at both grasping the fundamentals of political issues and trying to communicate them pales in comparison.

She wasn't just a talking head of iron hair either. In her term as State Treasurer she converted the Texas State Treasury to electronic deposits thereby making over 1 billion dollars to the state during her term from the interest that came from faster deposits and better cash management and investments. According to the Austin American Statesman her ultimate tally of more than $1.7 billion in outside income exceeded the non-tax revenue raised by previous treasurers over their combined 147 years in office. She proved to be just as effective as a governor and throughout her tenure strove to welcome her constituents to a "new Texas" of equality, and economic and social vibrance.

Mostly I'll miss her for myself. She was a shining example to women everywhere but mostly to Texas girls and women. She took on the good ole boy mentality of Texas politics as if it were an hornery horse. By the time she was done with them those good ole boys not only had to let her in the corral, they respected her. She lived a life full of adventure and mistakes and victories and never shied from any of it. She showed women you could screw up and still recover and reemerge a wiser woman. At least that's what she showed me.

Sign Ann's guestbook here.
Following is my entry:
My condolences to the Governor's family. She was such a great lady! I had the honor of hosting an event for the launch of her second book in NYC. What a thrill it was for me to not only meet her, but also to introduce her to the crowd of well-wishers! She had a way of turning a phrase in just such a way that entire crowds felt they were friends. There were no strangers in a room where Ann Richards spoke.

Vaya con Dios, Governor!