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Saturday, September 16, 2006
Honoring Ann Richards
I was sitting on the beach on North Padre Island when I heard Ann had died. As it turns out, sitting on the beach with the sound of the surf and hiding behind sunglasses is a perfect place to assimilate the news. It wasn't unexpected, but it nonetheless was/is a shock.Ann Richards represents more for women, I believe, than Geraldine Ferrarro. She was a Texan of the first order, a woman who took no guff. She was brash and outspoken (traits I appreciate, you might know). She was caring--as governor she didn't forget those who couldn't make it on their own. And she recognized the value of business. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. (Although, to be honest, I wish she hadn't lobbied for tobacco in DC. None of us is perfect.) Ann was the fulfillment of so many quiet dreams by the rest of us.
Thinking of Ann made me grieve, again, for other great women who helped shape my life--Inez Jeffrey, Anne Robinson, my own mother. Women I wish I could talk to, just for a minute. A couple of questions have come to mind over the last years, questions only they can answer. I miss them. I miss them terribly.
It's up to the rest of us to carry on the traditions of these women--some more well known than others, all exceptionally important within their own spheres. If there's a woman you admire and love, be sure to tell her. I'll be calling my mentor, Gene Waugh, a woman who grew up in LBJ country. This is a time to honor Ann by honoring each other.
To my male readers, surely you have a wife, a daughter, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a dear friend whom you can honor. Do it soon.
I came home to help with an important project: We are interviewing people standing in line to view Ann's casket in the Texas Capitol rotunda. We're doing this for the family, but also for Center for American History at the University of Texas where Ann’s archives are stored, at the Women’s Museum Ann helped found in Dallas, and as part of an installation at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders which opens next year in Austin.
What an honor to be able to participate in this effort. What an honor to have known Ann. What an honor to benefit from the precedents Ann set.
Comments:
I hope you will post again after tomorrow, and describe your experience in collecting stories from people at the capitol.
I hope the video could be made available online at some point. Would love to see all or parts of it. Thanks for volunteering. Wish I could have been there.
The passing of Ann Richards is a reminder of how precious life is and how important it is for each of us to embrace the human condition; live our life to the fullest and try along the way to help each other. This is, I believe, the Ann Richards philosphy.
I have the deepest admiration for Ann Richards and would have treasured meeting her, even for a brief moment. I would have loved to talk politics and current events with her, glean from her incredible insight and intellect and grasp firsthand her bold "big picture" view of the world, our country and Texas. I would have loved to hear her laugh, feel her intense zeal for life. How lucky so many people were to have had known her so well, and how lucky the rest of us are to have had her make our world better.
Perhaps the one greatest contribuition of her life that I appreciate the most is her willness to tear down traditional barriers that have stiffled so many for far too long and taught all of us that Texas could become better, more productive and bigger than life if more of its citizens were allowed to play.
The world is certainly better because Ann Richards was here and gave every day her best, and she will not soon be forgotten.
She made us all stand a little taller.